Articles by Charles (Buddy) Alligood

My mom and dad met during the last years of the “Great Depression.” They had lived through some very tough times, with both working any job they could find to help support their respective families. [Read More…]

In his poem, The Wasteland, T.S. Eliot describes April as the cruelest month. While my literature professor would disagree, I take issue with the poet. From an early age, I have always loved the arrival [Read More…]

I met Ms. Easly on my first day in the seventh grade. Twenty-eight students sat in a classroom awaiting the arrival of our social studies teacher. This was a new experience for us, as during [Read More…]

During World War II, many American families devoted a portion of their lots to producing some of their own food. This was considered patriotic, since much of the food was allocated to support our troops [Read More…]

He stood in front of me. A small, freckled faced red-haired boy, clutching a mixed-breed dog, both looking a little apprehensive of this stranger in front of them. This was Tommy, the first of 12 [Read More…]

During my early youth, my parents raised chickens. This served as our source for fresh eggs, and when the supply was more than we could use, we supplied our neighbors with the excess. The chickens [Read More…]

From early childhood I have always looked forward to the arrival of spring—the budding of flowering forsythia, soon followed by the tender crocus plants, breaking through the warm soil after a long winter’s nap; the [Read More…]

I first saw him one winter afternoon in my garage. He was sitting on the brick ledge adjacent to the back door, gingerly nibbling on a sunflower seed, one of several I had spilled while [Read More…]

As a young Boy Scout I loved my subscription to Boy’s Life magazine. Here, I would read the adventures of scouts from across the nation as they climbed mountain trails, canoed down wilderness streams and [Read More…]