Author: Gary Furr

I am a musician, writer and Christian minister living in Alabama. I am founder and President of the Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children.
Advent, Art, Christmas, Poetry, Writing

The Ringer

Gary Furr

A gyrating Salvation Army bellringer fresh off a successful run at Little Caesar’s sidewalk guards the doorway to the Stone Mountain Walmart He deftly dances and offers his extended hand with an underhand swoop. His lithe body in perfect unison with the music in his headphones, his beautiful brown face beaming with joy, In the parking lot, sedentary men in cars watch the show Glad for something interesting while waiting to ride up and pick up their mothers as they exit the store. A few annoyed shoppers avert their gaze but he pursues them. General Booth would never have imagined … Continue reading The Ringer

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Ted Lasso and the Hope That Doesn’t Kill You

Gary Furr

I am one of the last people to binge watch “Ted Lasso,” so I’d already heard plenty before viewing it. If anything, it was having to sign on to one more app (Apple TV) that took me so long. They count on you forgetting that you’re paying $4.95 a month to so many places. Television is that complicated. Jason Sudeikis surprised me. I am not young enough to have watched all of his work, so my impressions from SNL and a few movies cause me to mentally typecast him as a funnyman in slapstick comedies. I was disarmed in the … Continue reading Ted Lasso and the Hope That Doesn’t Kill You

Citizenship, Culture, Disease, Healthcare, Leadership, Pandemic, Politics1 Comment

Michael Lewis’ Premonition: A Cautionary Tale

Gary Furr

REVIEW of Michael Lewis, The Premonition: A Pandemic Story W. W. Norton & Company (May 4, 2021). After retirement I am deeply enjoying reading again at a level that I could not do when I was so busy. I just finished The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis. Michael Lewis is the best-selling author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, The Undoing Project, and The Fifth Risk. Rather than an exhaustive overview of the pandemic, Lewis tells us from the viewpoint of individuals—a state public health officer, an epidemiologist, IT entrepreneurs and medical researchers racing … Continue reading Michael Lewis’ Premonition: A Cautionary Tale

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A Prayer for Friends Who Have Lost Loved Ones 

Gary Furr

Life in its beginning, life at the end, all is pure and true gift beautiful and real. That there can be life at all, pulsing, real, changing us by holding onto it, astounds us. Love is real, making a dent in our cynicism and pride, real, changing us by causing us to break our hearts to let it in Hope is so fragile in this world amid the darkness and suffering all around us,           But it is real, It dares us to lift our eyes from anger and despair to believe that it all means something. Faith, so powerful … Continue reading A Prayer for Friends Who Have Lost Loved Ones 

Culture, Gospel music, Hymns, hymns, Modern Life1 Comment

Poplar Tent Memories: album release

Gary Furr

I have updated and re-released an album I put together with some friends ten years ago, POPLAR TENT MEMORIES. The name of the album comes from the road where I lived after I was born, Poplar Tent Road, in Concord, NC.  There was no Interstate 85 roaring through, moonshiners lived down the road and my grandpa and grandma were two houses away. I attended Poplar Grove Baptist Church before I could walk. My Grandpa Price led the music, and I have memories of the singing from pre-age five. Poplar Tent Memories is sixteen songs from the 2011 album and some … Continue reading Poplar Tent Memories: album release