Author: Buddy McElhannon
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Living Southern – In the Peach State of Happiness
No Georgian has to look at a calendar to know that it is now July in Georgia. There is ample evidence that sauna-time has hit the Southland. Just step outside and be greeted with the invisible monsoon. Summertime is defined in Georgia as “you gonna sweat a lot.” Well, at least, men will sweat. In…
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View from a Pew
Author’s Note: Thirty years ago, I purchased a 60-year-old fourteen-foot long church pew during a fundraising program at my church. In time I had it cut down to seven feet, re-stained and polished to become a cherished family treasure. I have often pondered what that pew has seen and heard in the decades it spent…
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Nails at Noon – Lessons from a Nail Parlor
Last week, our country celebrated its Independence Day. The 4th of July, for me, has always been filled with memories of fireworks, barbecues, and hot, sunny days at nearby Lake Oconee. In this land of the Free, we often forget the cost of that freedom or how cherished it is, especially for those who have…
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When Irish Eyes Are Smiling….I Must Have Made Them Laugh
Visiting a foreign country, especially for the first time, is always an exciting adventure. You just hope it’s not too exciting, if you know what I mean. After all, learning about a new culture, interacting with locals, and experiencing first hand how things are different from the US of A adds a breadth and depth…
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How the Irish Spell Hospitality
My wife decided I needed a heads-up. In an attempt to manage my expectations, she explained in precise terms, what I should expect on our two-week vacation to Ireland. “You need to understand,” she said, “that the Irish are some of the most hospitable people on earth.” Though welcome words to one visiting Ireland for…
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A Prideful Confession
I have a confession to make. I am embarrassed to admit this. Not sure why I should feel so uncomfortable, but I do. After all, I am an adult and there is nothing illegal about it. But why did I allow myself to be talked into this? I should know better. But here I am…
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Love Lifted Me
Soon after our wedding last year, I discovered an unexpected blessing from having married a woman who can sing. Patrice serves as one of the cantors who leads our church congregation in singing. She has perfect pitch and a musical range that few possess. Yes, I am not at all objective about this, but…
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Living Southern – Blue Plate Wins
My recent post about “Bubba and the Masters” and “Biscuits or Cornbread?” reminded me how blest I am to be from the South. “Southern by the grace of God” is not a cliche in my family. Having grown up in the land of peaches, peanuts, pecans, and pine trees…and yes, yellow pollen too, I have…
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My Digory Moment
There are those among us who consider the reading of fiction to be a supreme waste of time, at best pure escapism. I am not among them. I will be the first to admit there is a lot of literature that deserves the dust it gathers. Yet reading fiction for me has never been…
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Power in the Blood
James Harrison was 14 years old and could not help but wonder, “Why me?” He had just undergone an eleven-hour-long surgery to remove a lung. He required 13 units of blood to save his life and still had to spend the next three months in a hospital. Troublesome times for an Australian teenager in 1951.…
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