In 1987, Alfredo Raimondo visited Medjugorje, a tiny town in Bosnia, where many see apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon his return to the states, him and his wife moved from Chalmette, LA, to the tiny town of Tickfaw. In 1989, the Blessed Mother visited Alfredo and asked him …
Published on CNN. October 2013. BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY Bristol, Tennessee Text by CNN: A woman in a Confederate flag minidress. A little boy with an “88” softly shaved into his head. A pair of fans dressed up as M&Ms – one red, one yellow – each hoisting a canned beverage …
Holt Cemetery is an outlier in New Orleans being one of the only below-ground cemeteries in the city. While nearby cemeteries have grandiose sculptures and elaborate stones and foliage, these grounds feel immediate and human. Dr. Holt, well known for his work in Storyville, established the cemetery in 1879 to bury the poorer residents …
Flames engulfed the small strip club in Gray, TN, in the early hours of January 10, 2013. Mouse’s Ear was the only strip club between Johnson City’s Fuzzy Holes and Knoxville and was always particularly busy during race week. Rumors swirled around town- neighbors (like they had 20 years before) …
Today, if you drive through Oak Ridge, Tennessee, you can see some things that seem out of place. Old guard towers frame the city’s corners, certain exit roads are restricted access, and a large contemporary billboard reads “Y-12’s trash can be an enemy’s treasure!” with a stock photo woman haphazardly …
Self expression is everywhere in the rural Southeast. People express themselves with t-shirts, tattoos, front license plates and lawn decorations. There is a fierce independence in the area. And you see that spirit everyday in the handmade sign. The signs are made for a plethora of reasons: to delight, to …
As I step off of Dorothy’s back porch, I see the withered twitching legs of the Wicked Witch of the East under the house. The yellow brick road is before me and brighter and more magical than I ever imagined. Hidden among the twisty roads of Beech Mountain, NC, the …
“Sitting here at the Flora-Bama Bout to open up a big old can of good times, unwind Fall in and out of love in the same night Can’t say I got a whole lot of cares I’m in the redneck riviera It’s getting crazy, getting hammered Sitting right here at …
In the quiet town of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, a tiny chapel sits at the end of a short road of houses. The one room with a steeple was built around 1907. Surprisingly, the chapel sits unlocked. A simple wooden stop keeps the doors from swinging wide. The room smells damp and …
Sam started the town in 1996 and has continued building ever since. The town is made out of scraps and discarded materials and includes 1,700 feet of track with a working train car, a jail, post office, library, salt pump, and all the other trappings of a fully functioning town. …