In Every Nelson He Visits, Jeff Truesdell Finds the Man He Loved

TLC (Teaching and Learning College)

In Every Nelson He Visits, Jeff Truesdell Finds the Man He Loved

November 23, 2024 at 02:12AM

How do you deal with loss? For Jeff Truesdell, remembering his husband, Nelson Figueroa, means traveling to different towns and communities called Nelson. At each Nelson he visits, Truesdell poses a cardboard cutout of his partner at local landmarks and also speaks with residents about their town—and their own experiences with grief. This is an unexpected, feel-good read about loss, love, and the power of connection.

The United States of America has 21 states with communities or areas named Nelson, although it is arguably a little more or less depending on the source and your own definition of whether or not a place exists.

There’s Nelson, Arizona, which has 249 residents, and Nelson, Oklahoma, which is actually just an empty field next to the Nelson Fire Department. Nelson, Nevada, is a community that is often mistaken for a nearby ghost town, also called Nelson, but with just 22 residents will probably be a ghost town someday as well. Virginia has a town called Nelson, a county called Nelson, and another town called Nelsonia, and none of them are located near to one another.

On some trips there’s not much to see — all Jeff found when he visited Nelson, Kansas was a cemetery and empty farmland. Data from the 2020 U.S. census shows many Nelsons on the map are gradually losing their populations (the highway sign showing 128 residents living in Nelson, Mo. needs to be updated to just 99 people).

But in other stops Jeff has found history, stories, life.



from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/11/22/in-every-nelson-he-visits-jeff-truesdell-finds-the-man-he-loved/
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