Grinching

When a Nashville man named Robert was young, no one seemed to care that he didn’t know how to read. As he got older, lack of literacy affected his life in devastating ways no one could have predicted. Now at …

Miso and Dejan are Bosnian refugees who met as children when they were both resettled in the same apartment complex in Nashville, Tenn. After they each turned 30 they made a pilgrimage all the way back to Bosnia to visit …

Robert Person Sr. — Percy, as he’s known — has been shining shoes for 70 years. He started around age 10 and now, at 80, continues to work at Percy’s Shoe Shine Service in Nashville. He’s worn out, stressed out, …