Ponderings by Dan Ponder

When I graduated from Dothan High School in 1972, I had never seen a girl play a sport.  The girls were cheerleaders.  The boys played sports.  There was not much discussion about it and no one seemed to be making much of a fuss.   Girls did take physical education and wore white shorts and…

For more than a week, I have driven two or more hours each day, with some days stretching into the five to six hour range.  It is not like I am on a road trip.  It is more like now that I am retired I have no excuse not to do the things I want…

I am not sure how it happened, but I have had vegetarian cousins on both sides of my family.  I am not sure if this has anything to do with it, but they all lived west of the Rocky Mountains.   Two of these are my first cousins who cherish their Southern roots, even though…

Yellow.  Red.  White.  Mix the red and white and you have pink.  For over ten years these have been the colors of the hundreds of tulips we plant each year in our yard.  What once started out as an experiment to see how tulips would grow in southwest Georgia has now become a much-anticipated event…

Name the running back with the most yards rushing in NFL history.  Long time fans will not have to think long.  Emmitt Smith is at the top of that impressive list of outstanding athletes.   It has been almost 20 years since Smith ran up and down the field, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys.  Over…

The month of February is full of many birthdays in my family.  My calendar makes a note of these significant days even though I would remember them anyway.   In this particular case, four generations are remembered. It is only fitting that my grandson, Henry Vanstone, be listed first.   He is my oldest grandchild…

250 million.  That is how many roses it is estimated are grown for Valentine’s Day.  That is even more than the 145 million cards that are exchanged on February 14th of every year.   Most of us remember exchanging Valentine’s cards in our elementary school days.  We were encouraged to give one to everyone in…

He grew up on some hard-scrabble land in the Southwest corner of Arkansas.  His father grew some crops, but mostly peaches.  As a young boy, he worked on the farm and picked and packed peaches.   Lots of peaches.   Having four sisters was hard enough but being the only boy in the family made…

It was a big old house with parts of it rarely used.   The dining room might be used for Thanksgiving, and the guest room with its stunning canopy bed was seldom occupied.  The living room had fine antique furniture, not that comfortable but beautiful to behold. On the coffee table sat a rather ornate…

The School of Hospitality Management at Auburn University resides in the new Rane Culinary Science Center.  It is a world-class facility that can teach students about everything from brewing craft beers, distilling spirits and appreciating fine wines to learning how to operate and manage restaurants and hotels.   The 1856 Restaurant is an upscale teaching…