Category: Art

America, Citizenship, Culture, Ethics, Leadership, Politics, Story

Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me

Gary Furr

Jackie Gleason used to play a character called the Poor Soul. He walked with a slump and every step he took said, “I don’t deserve to be here.” I’ve been trying to figure out how a man who has the office of President and a cowering party that never calls him out can walk around like everyone is so mean to him. We’re running out of teacups for President Trump’s tempests. He does love them. The poor man. People seem to be so mean to him. Most recently, of course, it was a gentle admonition at the National Cathedral, when … Continue reading Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me

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Jimmy Carter’s Vision

Gary Furr

I had an earlier podcast about Jimmy Carter in February of 2023. He has woven in and out of my life for forty plus years. His funeral has been a powerful moment to stop and consider what life is about. That’s what funerals at their best can accomplish. We mark a passing, but also stop to mark our own journey to the same place. Maybe we slow down long enough to ask, “Am I living life as it is meant to be? ​In early 2009, I was asked to host Jimmy Carter’s visit to Birmingham for the New Baptist Covenant. He was … Continue reading Jimmy Carter’s Vision

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An Advent Prayer

Gary Furr

A prayer offered in 1993, my first year at a new pastorate, as part of a lovely service of lessons and carols led by Mrs. Marlene Taylor and the choir. Beloved in Christ, Advent invites our hearts and imaginations to            bring us again to the angels’ song, To lead us to sleepy Bethlehem where we behold again           the wonder of the Babe, lying in a manger. Therefore let us re-enter the Holy Scriptures and trace again           the trail of God’s loving purposes           that leads from God’s own eternal creative and loving heart           through our first … Continue reading An Advent Prayer

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Straight Talk

Gary Furr

Listen to the podcast Many years ago. I came across a movie character actor I really liked. Veteran character actors are people you see over and over again in different movies and shows, making it more challenging for them to convince you that they are a different person than the last time you saw them. This actors name was Richard Farnsworth and the movie was “The Straight Story.” The Straight Story was released in 1999. It was directed by David Lynch, of “Twin Peaks” fame. It had the same pace and odd cadence of Billy Bob Thornton’s oddball flick, “Slingblade.” Slow, rambling, full of peculiar small-town characters that felt familiar to me. All these … Continue reading Straight Talk

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NAIL-PULLING

Gary Furr

I spent Labor Day pulling up a rotten 16-foot-long board on our deck. I pulled all of the nails out and bought a replacement from Home Depot. I am a machine at pulling nails, thanks to life experiences in my early twenties. I learned how to pull a nail with a clawhammer, a nail puller, a flat nail puller, a crowbar, sometimes twisting sideways to get it going. If it’s rusty and stuck into some particularly hardwood, if you yank too hard., you are liable to wind up with only part of the nail and the rest of it stuck deep in the board. And then good luck to … Continue reading NAIL-PULLING