Ponderings by Dan Ponder

I joined part of my family on a Zoom meeting this past week.  We were celebrating my cousin’s graduation from Yale.  After four years of enduring the weather in New Haven, Connecticut and spending untold amounts of his parent’s money, Cormac Byrd has earned his degree.  He already has a job in New York and…

Everyone you and I know is  sick and tired of sitting around.  This self-isolation thing is more of a challenge than most of us ever imagined.  We are social animals.  We enjoy and even flourish in each other’s company.   Despite our desire to interact with our fellow man, we are also  people that understand…

 We are sometimes so caught up in the daily news about Covid-19 that some forget the lingering effects of Hurricane Michael in our area.  So much progress has been made in the aftermath of the storm that it does give me hope that we can overcome this second great challenge we have faced in the…

It is hard to believe the problems that have descended on Southwest Georgia in the past couple of years.  Hurricane Michael left such widespread devastation that parts of our area are still trying to crawl out of that hole. Just as we are seeing some semblance of light at the end of that very long…

One of the best counselors, friends, and generally good people I have ever known once gave me some good advice.  Bill Burke suggested that I should find a way to not work so much, but rather block out some time to put my feet on my desk and just let my mind wander.   After…

My grandfather was born in 1910.  He was a larger than life figure to me.  He was an accomplished businessman and an accomplished storyteller.  He laughed heartily at his own jokes.  My wife, Mary Lou, learned that he only teased those he loved.  He teased her a lot. Joe Beall saw many changes in his…

I left Damascus a day before the Trail Days gathering was over.  Every hiker on the Appalachian Trail within 100 miles in either direction would take a break and congregate over a long weekend in the small town of Damascus, Virginia. Damascus is a town about one third the size of Donalsonville.  The Appalachian Trail…

This is not what I expected my first week as a truly retired man to be like.  No celebrations, plays or dinners out with friends.  Just the same routine day after day.   I walk five miles every day as soon as I get up.  At the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic I would listen…

In the past two weeks we have been bombarded with challenging news on every front, bringing uncertainty into our lives faster than we can comprehend.  In many cases we are alone, isolated, fearful and afraid.   We now know that the Corona Virus, COVID-19, is not a hoax, a Chinese plot, or a regular version…