Where Have I Been?
Yesterday for our anniversary Kristin and I decided to go on a bike ride. We didn’t know where we were going to go, but we knew we wanted to have lunch in Downtown Franklin and then go from there. First of all, let me say we had an awesome time and it was one of the most fun days I have had in a long time. But that’s not what this post is about.
We’ve lived in this area for almost four years now, and for as long as we’ve lived here Downtown Franklin has been ‘the place’. It’s the swanky area. It’s where the ‘high end’ restaurants are, it’s where the money goes, and it’s where people go to see or be seen. But even with all that, we love it down there. We love the little shops, we love the ability to walk around at night with other families, grab some Starbucks or ice cream and enjoy the quaint little downtown. In fact, we’d love to live there someday. We’ve even talked about it, we’ve looked at houses, but with the area being so desirable, living there isn’t much of a reality as far as money goes.
See, something like this house here is absolutely gorgeous and can be ours for one easy payment of $1,495,000. A little steep for our price range, but that’s not even what this post is about. Let me get to the point.
Yesterday while riding around and drooling over gorgeous Downtown Franklin houses Kristin and I took a side road and ended up in what felt like a completely different world. You see the red and blue line up there on that map? That was one of the circles we rode. And here’s what we saw. The house above on one street selling for one and a half million dollars on the red line and then this house literally a block away.
Now, what this is NOT, is a statement of housing prices, or how the market has changed or anything like that. While Kristin and I were riding down the ‘Blue Line’ I couldn’t help but think, ‘Where have I been? I thought Downtown Franklin was a ‘swanky’ high end area? How come I have never heard of this area of obvious neglect and poverty. We waved and talked to a few people down the street, shaking our heads at how run down some of these houses are and the fact that even after four years of living in the area we have never seen or heard of the people that live a block away from ‘where the money hangs out’. Do churches not want to talk about it? Do the folks on West Main just ignore what’s down the street?
I don’t even really have a solution for something like this and I’m certainly not being overly preachy about helping people out or anything, but I was completely blown away at the fact that this is a society and group of people that seem like they have completely fallen off the cities radar.
Any of you Franklin peeps been over there? Heard anything about this area? Any churches involved in helping this area out? Or are we too busy wishing we could walk to Starbucks from our one and a half million dollar home?
http://hardbargain.org/
Let’s face it. Churches are not cheap to run these days. The fact is, people who live on poor street would not be able to contribute very much to our missions projects. We have to focus on the people who have money. Just sayin’.
(This is an observation, not how I really think!!).
I’ve been to Franklin once, and it’s really nice. I know where the Starbucks is and Puckett’s. I was a tourist, so I didn’t see the other part of town…however, isn’t that what happens all the time? The rich live very close to the not so rich, but no one does anything. The rich continue to live rich, and the not so rich continue to live day by day trying to survive. Franklin is a town full of celebrities….makes you wonder, if they even know there’s a world outside their own, in their own town….and will they do anything about it! I think that’s why the Bible spends so much time on the rich/poor.
The told us about this when we looked for houses in Franklin a few years back. It was like nice downtown and then literally project housing (for real!). I think I remember it being Main Street being the cut off…..
It is like that here in the FL panhandle too. You have the UBER Rich who own 2nd homes here in Seaside, Watercolor, Watersound, Sandestin, Etc. Etc. and then just down the street the wealth challenged.
Another thing The Goodwill here charges around $5. Per piece For clothing and it REALLY chokes my chicken as a lot of times you can go to the outlet mall or Wal-Mart have something brand new and come out better. So I give all of my donations to Caring & Sharing (a little local volunteer only run thrift shop and food pantry) then I tell those people in need (if I know of someone) where to get the help if they need it. Not much but every little bit helps.
The sad thing lately is that people have been stealing from Caring and Sharing. Makes me sad…
Maybe if all the churches put their different belief systems aside joined together they could do the community a WORLD of good. Possibly have a seperate offering for the community outreach??
I don’t know the solution but I don’t think Government run programs is the answer?? I do think the Local people should be involved with coming up with a solution. But also I really don’t like HOA’s either soooo that makes me stuck. I hope you find that answer….
we ended up right near there once, checking out a rental listing from craigslist. the oddest thing was, even with the place falling apart and no ac, the place was only 50 per month less than a much nicer apartment nearly 3 times the size a few miles away. we did get told a couple different times about the lack of credit check, but still.
by the school district’s numbers for franklin elementary, which is in the area, 47% of the kids qualified for free or reduced lunches.
We live in a “me-centric” world. (And I’m very much a guilty part of that me-centric issue; therefore, I’m not excluding myself as being part of the problem. However, I’m a thinker and a dreamer.)
There will always be the issue of the “have” and the “have nots” – we won’t get away from that without a drastic change in government – a change that many absolutely refuse and a system that would radically change our country as we know it.
I believe that the body of Christ (not the denominational thing that we call church) is coming into a time where we have huge opportunities to show what it means to be counter cultural and to lead. A modern reflection of the Acts 2 church?
It’s easy to be “me-centric”. It’s difficult to step out of that and effect changes that result in people helping people – devoid of government.
Three years ago, my wife and I went on a trip to El Salvador, and sat with families who had nothing. We came home and sold everything we had, which was a nice, big, new house in McKay’s Mill. Nothing wrong with living there, but it’s not where we were supposed to be. And we sold everything not because I’m a good person, but because we were in debt up to our eye balls, (over $130,000.00), and even though we were compelled to help others, we couldn’t because we were too broke to even pay our own bills.
We purposefully moved downtown Franklin to one of the poorest streets in town. Three years later, we’re debt-free. And even though we’re one of only three families in our area with our color of skin, we’re finally loving our neighbors. Neighbors like my friend Johnny, who had a record 20 years ago, but is now a good man but can’t get work because of his past.
It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s changed our lives.
Thank you for this post. Resist the urge to stop here. Please do more than blog about it. It won’t just help others…it’ll change your life in the process.
I understand your heart in this post…but…
It is so easy to pretextualize in a blog. You admit that you had not been on that “other” street before now.
As someone who lives on West Main, next to that “other” street, I have been here some time now. And..here’s what I know…
The people who live on West Main (for the most part-there are a few exceptions) live there because they have worked hard and worked smart. They are capitalists and entrepreneurs and risk-takers. Many of them grew up in poverty much like you see a few streets down.
The HUGE difference is that the people of West Main decided one day that they were not content to live their lives on a front porch all day taking government hand-outs. They decided to work for their future and their family. They believe in American Free Enterprise and not big government and socialism.
The facts in context show that on West Main there is a couple who run a company called Barefoot Republic – a camp for underprivileged kids – a camp that teaches them how to work and take responsibility – not matter what color of skin or lot in life. This couple lives two doors down from me and have given their lives to the kids that live a few streets down from us.
Their is another couple that live a couple of houses down the other way on West Main. Every Thursday you will find them under the Jefferson Street bridge feeding the homeless and befriending and loving them.
That same couple just posted bail for a man of color who lives on that “other” street and got him out of jail, because even though that man is totally addicted to cocaine, he loves his family and works hard.
Another couple teach and mentor young children from that “other” street in the arts and provides scholarships so that ones who show potential and motivation have scholarships to artist communities and schools.
Another couple (two people) give more financially than probably the entire Thompson Station/Spring Hill area and all its families and churches combined to feed the poor in third world countries where there are no food stamps and A/C and roofs and beds like on that “other” street.
My children and many more, in cooperation with The Journey at Ekklesia church, have been on that “other’ street countless times to provide picnics and food and they finally gave up because no one will even get off their porch and come.
I could go on…
But, you won’t ever hear those West Main people (at least the ones that are really doing something) trumpet their good will. They have worked hard and smart and do not apologize that they live in a beautiful Utopian neighborhood where the houses they own will insure that they have a retirement that frees them so that they can REALLY start making a difference.
We should all read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. Again and again. And then live out – not Objectivism – as she espouses – but live out Christianity. Not religion. Not government. This Obamian “change” that is always promised in the government is a continuing historical deception. Working hard and smart is REAL. Government is not the answer. Churches are not the answer. Giving up your home in the richest 1% to live, oh yeah, with the richest 5% globally (that “other” street) is not the answer.
The answer is in scripture. Work hard, be honest, care for your family and then use your God-given intelligence, motivation, discipline and the power of collaboration with wise men around you to enable you to minister in a really effective way.
Okay, Wow, it looks like I’ve written a book here. Maybe I should. Maybe somebody already has. Hmmm, the Bible and Atlas Shrugged and Wealth of Nations. We don’t need more books. We need people that are willing to DO something.
My country and its children weary me. But I love them, and because I love them both-I do not want a co-dependency that will lead to dysfunction. Go with me some time to Kyrgystan, if you dare. And see what this dysfunction will do to a tribe of people.
Thanks, Brody for asking a good and I believe, honest question. We just be careful not to pretextualize. We bloggers, and I am chief of sinners, tend to do that entirely too much.
Thanks for chiming in Randy. I was hoping you would.
I hope that everyone reading this post sees that it’s not me generalizing or condemning in any way. This post was simply me asking a question and genuinely hoping for real answers, which I think all these comments have given.
And quite honestly, it was a pretty eye opening experience for me when I rode through that neighborhood minutes after drooling over the houses a block away.
I’m glad things are being done, and I love hearing about things like hardbargain.org. Thanks for everyone’s contribution to this discussion. If nothing else, it’s a confirmation to me that there are good people doing good things for this area of town.