Who I Met Today

Everyone has a story – Collecting & sharing interesting info, life lessons, & fun things to see & do from the wonderful people in our world

Tag Nashville

Porter Road Butcher cheesemonger Mark Bilbrey

Mark Bilbrey – Cheesemonger

Feeling like old friends, Mark Bilbrey greeted me with a big smile, a warm hug, and invited me behind the cheese case at Porter Road Butcher in East Nashville.  We spent the next two hours laughing and talking and comparing varieties of cheddars and goudas.  Tragically, 3 months later, on November 6, 2018, Mark lost his life in a one-vehicle auto accident on rain-soaked streets.  For his family, friends, colleagues,

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animal keeper and clouded leopard at Nashville zoo

Meet Jake Belair – Animal Keeper and Ambassador

Surrounded by posters and thank you cards and sweet messages from school kids, Jake Belair is a bit of a rock star at the Nashville Zoo.  “I have a great deal of fun showing people, including a whole lot of kids, the glamorous side of animal keeping,” he says with his big grin.  Sweaty, grimy, and sporting rubber wading boots, Jake has spent the morning cutting tree branches for his

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Downtown Nashville skyline

My Favorite Things To Do In Nashville

Traveling to a new city, I don’t necessarily want an overwhelming list of restaurant recommendations and tourist attractions to sort through and analyze.  Just give me a few good spots to eat and fun places to go to get me started – leaving room for impromptu exploring and spontaneity. These are my current Nashville favorites – I know my list may change periodically.  Hope you enjoy checking out a few

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Brittany Fuson Paper

Brittany Fuson – Fashion Illustrator

Crazy about pretty clothes, great shoes, and lists of all sorts, I fell in love with Brittany Fuson and her long-legged girls.  Dressed in fabulous dresses and carrying the latest  handbags, her blondes and brunettes and redheads sport everything I ever hope to find hanging in my dream closet. Finishing up her Apparel Design degree at the University of Alabama back in 2009, Brittany wanted to give each of her

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Matt Russo and The Gambling Stick BBQ Trailer

According to Matt Russo, “a gambling stick is an old Appalachian name for a stick used to hang a pig from the limb of a tree. Threaded through the heels of the pig, the stick supports its weight while the animal is harvested.”  The gamble, and hope, is the stick can handle the pig’s weight, and the animal will not come tumbling down. In a parking lot in trendy East

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Dustin Williams, Violin Maker in Nashville, TN

Meet Dustin Williams – Violin Maker

As we wander through the charming, historic Music Row building with the rickety staircases and old-world architecture, Dustin Williams proudly explains, “Everything we have here we fully expect to last 200 years.” The older they get, the more valuable. The more they are played, the better they sound.  “We are lucky to be the caretakers of these beautiful instruments.”

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Green Bag Ladies – Saying No To Plastic

This article was originally featured on www.newdream.org in June 2018

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Destiney Patton – Our Personal Guide Through Second Harvest Food Bank

Folks with illnesses requiring time off from work, individuals with sudden Injuries or disabilities, seniors with smaller incomes, people who’ve lost their jobs, kids in at-risk homes. It is impossible to keep track of everyone who needs help.  Many won’t ask for assistance.  Some are embarrassed to seek aid.  Others don’t know how to get support. One thing is for certain – many faces of hunger exist all across our

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Chris Pence – What Does a Sound Engineer Do?

Since moving to Nashville, I spend more time listening to live music in a variety of venues around town.  After all, this is Music City.   Aside from raw talent and lots of practice, I never really think about what else makes for an outstanding show.  According to Chris Pence, a sound engineer with country and pop bands, “When everything at a show sounds great, the artist is wonderful!  But

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Brian O’Connor – Good Dye Young and a Farm with a Purpose

Thirteen years ago, Hayley William’s hair stylist was out on leave, and Brian O’Connor was her next available option. Making small talk as she sat in his chair, Brian asked Hayley the basic questions about what she was doing and where she was working. Laughing now, as he recalls their initial conversation, Brian said he secretly rolled his eyes when Hayley told him she wrote and sang songs.  Of course

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