Jakob Esaw

[Author’s note: this blog entry, published simultaneously at DishMag.com, is a part of my semi-regular series Down the Rabbit Hole, Up the Human Interest. For each story in the series, I typically start my research somewhere in the infinite landscape of the Internet: on an official website, a more local site, or some other catch-all, like a wiki. Then I investigate the human elements of the story by going out and talking to the people behind the basic narrative. Nashville, it turns out, is a great place to collect stories. Read on!]

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When thinking of the Salvation Army, most people immediately conjure up images of those happy-go-lucky bell ringers who stand beside their red kettle buckets outside shopping centers and grocery stores this time of year. It’s true: the people who brave the brutal cold wearing Santa hats and calling attention to the…