Tag: Alabama

Alabama, change, Citizenship, Culture, Disease, Ethics, Healthcare, Institutions, Leadership, Poverty, Sickness and Health, Story, Theology and Life1 Comment

Taking Care of Our Own

Gary Furr

A friend mentioned to me recently that an out of state visitor saw our Alabama state motto, WE DARE TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS on a sign and asked if it had been put there as a prank. No, he was told, that is really our motto. If you have lived here for a long time, you understand that we resist when others challenge us, no matter how well intentioned. Determination can help us in life, but it can work against you as life changes. I’d like to add another one: WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN. Two friends and I … Continue reading Taking Care of Our Own

Alabama, Children, Citizenship, Family, Family, Uncategorized2 Comments
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Helping Alabama’s Children

Gary Furr

Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children This Giving Tuesday, consider making a small donation to help mothers and children in Alabama receive the help they need to live happy, healthy lives. Our website and app are designed to provide information and access to food banks, diaper banks, clothes, and other vital resources. Join us in supporting the women and children of Alabama. EVERY dollar will go to the work of spreading our effort to connect all faith-based and public organizations help give easier access to information and help to the public so that we may improve the health of … Continue reading Helping Alabama’s Children

Death, Poetry, Suffering, Theology and Life, Writing

The Day Alabama Almost Died by Gary Furr Remembering April 27, 2011

Gary Furr

Video still suspended on the internet, weathermen almost screaming fear and warning, Maps lit up with horrible storms, bright, rotating monsters And the skycams filming it Dark rumbling cone of cloud, wider and firmer, roaring down, Swallowing places we all recognized, this street corner, that road, this hospital and the University itself Gobbled into darkness We sat watching helplessly in what passes for our safe place Terrified for people we know and can’t call or get to Just sat there, watching, listening, praying in a basement or a closet Now it lives on YouTube and in children’s nightmares Fear comes … Continue reading The Day Alabama Almost Died by Gary Furr Remembering April 27, 2011

Art, Books, Children, Competition, Culture, Ethics, humanity, Immigration, Justice, Movie Reviews, Race, REVIEWS--Books, Movies, Music5 Comments

To Kill A Mockingbird…50 years later

Gary Furr

Here in Alabama, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of our great treasures.  You can still go to Monroeville, Alabama and see a live re-enactment of the story every year by the local citizenry.  You start out in the yard, then move inside the courthouse, and it is eerily reminiscent of the movie because Hollywood built a replica of it for the film.  When I went with friends a few years back, I felt a flash of shame and pain when the n-word was uttered while African American locals up in the balcony were in our presence.  I was embarrassed.  So we’ve made some progress, I guess.  As a child in North Carolina the word was uttered around me thoughtlessly, as a part of an unquestioned culture of resentment and vulnerable entitlement. Continue reading “To Kill A Mockingbird…50 years later”