Ponderings by Dan Ponder

It is funny how the mind works.  During the children’s sermon this past Sunday, the small children were asked if they had ever taken a road trip.  The hands quickly were raised and when asked where they had been the most common answers were Florida and Tennessee.  Between Disney World and the frequent visits recently…

Night after night I listened to my transistor radio.  It was 1966 and past my bedtime, especially for games played on the West Coast.  I was listening to the Braves.  Not the Milwaukee Braves, but the newly relocated Atlanta Braves, the first major league team of any sport in the deep south. My radio only…

This past week the Wall Street Journal ran one of the most unusual front pages I have ever seen on a newspaper, local or national.  It was blank, under the headline that simply said “His Story Should be Here”.  It was in recognition of the Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has now been imprisoned in…

These are challenging times, in so many ways.  Our world is in turmoil.  Our nation is more divided than I have known in my lifetime.  There seem to be no bridges for reconciliation whether we talk about politics or religion.  All seems hopeless and lost. A little over 2,000 years ago the times might have…

My wife, Mary Lou, and I attended six different sporting events involving three different sports in the past four days.  Even as I sit down to write this column, I am watching a rerun of Auburn’s win over Florida in the SEC Tournament Championship Game.  It is always fun to watch the replay of a…

My childhood buddy, Keith Granger, and I boarded the plane in Atlanta.  It was the first plane ride for either of us.  Our plane flew to St. Louis where we had to change planes.  For some reason, I remember we had to fly Frontier Airlines from St. Louis to our destination in Salt Lake City.…

Dear Henry:   Happy 16th Birthday.  It is hard to believe that it has been 16 years since I became a grandfather.   You were our first and holding you in my arms for the first time was a joy I will never forget.   Time has flown by, and one of the greatest delights…

The first step of any journey is usually the most difficult.  It takes us out of our comfort zone and enables us to see life that is different from what we consider normal. I have been fortunate to travel to all 50 states and almost 40 countries.  It is the thing that my wife, Mary…