Two weeks into the stay-at-home order issued by Mayor John Cooper, Sylvan Park resident Janet Younts craved social interaction. What began as an invitation to everyone on her street to go outside and wave to one another at 7 p.m. each evening turned into a nightly socially distanced gathering in the alley behind their homes.
Nancy King’s wooden artist model
The self-described “Alley Cats” check in as a simple way to care for each other. “I felt loved,” says Younts, “and I knew people would care about me.” Neighbors have deepened their interest in each other’s lives. They have hosted retirement and birthday parties, graduation celebrations and group exercise classes. The meetups have offered reprieve from loneliness and fear during quarantine, but the Alley Cats plan to continue gathering after the city reopens. According to Younts, the bonds created during this time will forever change the spirit of her neighborhood.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused fear, confusion and more than 115,000 deaths in the United States alone. The vastness of the global grief can be overwhelming, but musicians, artists and neighbors have stepped up to offer solace and support to their communities. While separating physically, creative Nashvillians are working to make sure it does not diminish their spirits.
Vanderbilt University professor Nancy King rekindled her artistic side and inspired her neighbors. Wanting to reach out while maintaining distance, she placed a wooden artist model on her mailbox with a sign announcing, “I’ll say hey in a different way everyday.” She has outfitted the figure with materials she finds at home, such as plastic bags, yogurt tops, fabric, toys and bamboo skewers. With her models, she has honored first responders wearing PPE, celebrated Mother’s Day by adding a baby bump and presented spring-themed narratives with rubber duckies. The motivation to initiate unique encounters comes from empathy.
“I know people are suffering, bored and stressed-out,” says King. “If they walk by and smile, it is really worth it.” The positive responses she’s received, the new friends she’s made and the anonymous contributions like handmade jewelry and miniature knitting needles have encouraged her to expand her creativity. The respite from isolation she offers to her neighbors has ignited curiosity, cheerful conversations and daily anticipation.
Ben Avci of Inglewood plays music in his neighborhood
When the honky-tonks downtown closed, musicians across the city lost the space to perform and make a living. A frequent performer at Tootsie’s and Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk, Ben Avci of Inglewood is using his talents to entertain and connect with people. Missing the fun of playing live music, he began a concert series every Friday night in his driveway. He’s not the only musician living on his block, and players in the neighborhood have come forward to jam. “This is such a unique place where we have a Grammy Award-winning producer playing with a 14-year-old, up-and-coming harmonica player,” says Avci. “There’s no judgment. It’s for fun. It’s become wonderful for me and all of us. We’ve grown as a community.” Friday evenings filled with kids playing and adults dancing in their yards have been a real relief during quarantine. Avci supplies hand sanitizer and insists on social distance among the guest performers.
“When quarantine started,” says Avci, “I really didn’t know my value. I was like, ‘Of course musicians can’t work.’ We are not essential, and it really felt like I wasn’t a vital part of society. I questioned whether what I was doing — making music for a living — was really an important task in our society. But what these Friday shows have taught me is that people really do value what I do.”
Even as Nashville has entered phase two of reopening, these individuals have transformed their communities with their grassroots acts of love. Emerging from our homes and shifting back to public life provides an opportunity for neighbors to acknowledge what they have learned and valued. Younts, King and Avci all agree that they would like to keep these rituals going. Unity has become a reality. Now the responsibility falls on all the neighbors to maintain the spirit of what has begun.
“It seems to me it’s what neighborhoods used to be,” says Younts. “We’ve kind of rekindled that in our little alley. … Who knows what our new normal may be. I don’t know. Maybe, just maybe, we can do it once a week or once a month so we don’t lose this good connection.”
