Ponderings by Dan Ponder

Robert Powell wrote an article in the USA Today this past week that caught my eye.   The title was “Do not leave grieving relatives searching for your passwords”.  For much of the past year I have been dealing with a situation that dealt with this very subject.   My Uncle Joe was only nine…

I doubt that anyone would say that 2020 has not been a most challenging year.  The pandemic itself would place this particular year at the bottom of almost everyone’s list.  Add in a record number of hurricanes in the south, a historic fire season in the west, a divisive election of epic proportions, and an…

Every vote counts.  That is what every student is taught throughout their education.  Civics, once a staple of high school classes, taught students about the electoral college and the history of past elections. The entire nation is focused on a recount of the Presidential race, especially in the state of Georgia.  The odds of having…

We grew up together.  We worked on a farm and at the peanut mill from the time we were young kids.  He was the athlete.  I was the good student.  We lived in the same room until I left for college, then lived next door to each other while we raised our children.  We worked…

This is probably one of the most difficult columns I have ever had to write.  What do you say on the day after the election following one of the most contentious Presidential races in our nation’s history?  The polls have long been closed and once again we find ourselves with a very tight race.  The…

What topic does a writer choose a week before the most contentious presidential race in our lifetime?  That is especially true when you are writing for a weekly newspaper that is struggling to overcome the twin obstacles of Hurricane Michael and the Pandemic.    Advertising has plummeted due to both of those events.  This really…

For those who have asked me about last week’s column, I am happy to report that as of today we have phone and internet service, and our computers are once again working.  How lost we are without technology in today’s world.  On the other hand, what a wonderful respite it was from the craziness of…

As we reach a fever pitch with less than three weeks until the election, everyone is frustrated.  Even political junkies like me have had enough. The simple act of having breakfast with old friends even carries risk these days.  You can lose a friendship over a discussion of who won a debate, when, in fact,…

Occasionally, often just in the nick of time, something happens in our lives that brings us back to an equilibrium, a place where things seem normal, even in the face of most unusual things.    The past few weeks have brought a tsunami of things that should bring concern to all of us.  Given this…

The year 2020 has been a challenge for me, you and probably most people you know.  Things we never imagined could happen have become truths in our every day lives.   The Coronavirus, the multiple storms, the millions of people out of work, any one of them could be a disaster for a single year.…