COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — For the people we love the most, we want to give gifts they'll always remember. A Columbia woman was unsure if the request from her mother was something she could help make happen. She was certainly going to try.
"This one I got for Christmas," said grandmother in Columbia Sharon Brown, showing the hoodie she was wearing. "Jelly Roll! I adore him."
Sharon said people don't expect her to be such a fan of the singer.
"I think they're shocked because of my age and my white hair," she said.
Sharon has even convinced daughter Melissa and granddaughter Naveah to get matching bad apple tattoos with her in honor of Jelly Roll. Melissa's even driven her mom out to Antioch so she could see the church Jelly Roll grew up attending. That church is now featured on a Jelly Roll album cover. These little trips have carried so much meaning for Melissa after the two years her mom has gone through.
"She had an aneurysm which caused early on-set dementia," Melissa said. "She also has renal failure, and she has chosen not to do dialysis. It's a lot. It's a lot for her."
During this time, Jelly Roll's music about living with struggles has helped Sharon. At one of Jelly Roll's toy drive concerts, Melissa told a crew member the story of her mother.
"I explained her situation and said her dying wish, her number one on her bucket list, was to meet Jelly Roll," Melissa said.
Could Melissa and that crew member work together and make this meeting between Sharon and Jelly Roll happen? As a matter of fact, they did.
"He gave me so many hugs," Sharon said, remembering the moment she met Jelly Roll backstage at a show. "He made me feel like I was so special. He told me I only looked 50!"
"It was just an incredible experience to do that with my mom," Melissa said. "It will be a day to remember for the rest of our lives."
“I’ve never met anyone like Tennie.”
That’s how one neighbor at Stones River Manor in Murfreesboro describes Tennie Fitzpatrick, who has mastered as many as seven different musical instruments. Each day, Tennie shares those talents with residents, workers and visitors. It’s an ability Tennie herself believes is “a gift from God.” That’s because Tennie is blind, and overcame a difficult, abusive childhood. Forrest Sanders shares this truly inspirational story.
- Rhori Johnston
