My son and daughter-in-law had to put down their fifteen-year-old poodle this week. Every dog lover understands the heartache that comes when its time to say goodbye to a loyal, lovable, and forever-a-part-of-the-family pooch. It’s especially tough when you have to explain such a loss to your two young daughters. My son shared how he … Continue reading A Mouse Named Noel
Christmas is a time to make memories, and hopefully, the kind of memories that still make you laugh, giggle and smile sixty years later. Unless it was the Christmas of 1986, when “Santa” had the bright idea to leave all his Christmas gifts in one 10 foot long black plastic bag so that our family … Continue reading If It’s Eggrolls, It Must Be Christmas
The headlining theme of last year’s December 2018 edition of Southern Living magazine was one of the “Simple Joys” of Christmas. I always chuckle a hearty HO-HO-HO at such teasing titles. While offering readers the hope of a simple Christmas, the magazine proceeded to unload a Santa sleigh-full of ideas on decorating, wreaths, cooking, … Continue reading The Simple Joys of Christmas
Grief shouts the loudest during holidays. Following the loss of a loved one, those left behind must navigate a minefield of emotions during those first holidays without their beloved. And who wants to talk about such a gloomy subject at a time like Christmas? For most of my adult life, grief was never an … Continue reading The Great Musician’s Birthday
My adult children struggle to buy Christmas gifts for me. It’s not really as bad as it sounds. They have just run out of gift ideas for their dad. Usually, in early November, the pleading starts, “Dad, we need your list of what you want for Christmas!” I have a problem answering that question. As … Continue reading What This Grandfather Wants for Christmas
Christmas is my favorite season of the year. The scents, the symbols, the decorations all tend to create a festive, if not reflective time when we have yet another opportunity to cherish family, our traditions, and the faith that makes life meaningful. Unfortunately, the commercialization and secularization of Christmas have distracted us from much of … Continue reading The Tale of the Advent Log
College football rivalries in the Southland resemble a Hatfield-McCoy feud. They are intense, long-lasting, sometimes bitter, and always passionate. Think Auburn vs. Alabama, USC vs. Clemson, Florida vs. Florida State, Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State, and, of course, my favorite, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech. It may sound like a random collection of words, but Clean … Continue reading Living Southern: Clean Old-Fashioned Hate
Followers of TheBuddyBlog.com: Years ago, a friend of mine was quoted as saying, "Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me. I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way, and some of the roads were not paved.” There is a lot of truth in that statement. … Continue reading Manhood and Chainsaws
Getting married after being a widower for six years was one of the craziest, bravest, who-da-thunk-it things I have ever done. As if a stress test was a required pre-marital experience, my body decided to give my future wife a glimpse of how her beloved handled pain. And I got a glimpse at how … Continue reading Hell Hath No Fury Like A Kidney Stone; Man Hath No Friend Like A Loving Wife
The term “mulligan” has become rather commonplace in our culture. In golfing parlance, it refers to a player being granted a do-over after a less than satisfactory shot. In popular culture, it simply means a person gets a second chance to get something right. I always understood that mulligans in golf were something granted by one … Continue reading The Ultimate Mulligan*
