Ponderings by Dan Ponder

Sometimes life is sweeter than usual, and at my age that often means I am talking about my grandchildren. Pardon me, if I share once again some of the tales and adventures of the youngest generation of my family. It was Senior Night for Henry’s soccer team at Bainbridge High School. My oldest grandson has…

My father fought in the Korean Conflict.  He was always bothered that the leadership of his country did not call the conflict the Korean War.  The American casualties included over 33,000 combat deaths, another 7,000 were missing or unaccounted for.  Another 92,000 soldiers were wounded in action. This does not include the two million Korean…

  Over sixty years ago, I found myself on the baseball fields during the Summer in Cottonwood, Alabama.  It was the only Summer program for boys in the small town where I grew up.  The infield was red dirt, and the outfield was scruffy grass.  It was the home of some of the greatest baseball…

It was a beautiful sunny day, just right for a long walk.  I set off on a five-mile journey, planning to wind through the loveliest village on the plains, with a brief stop along the way at Waffle House. Less than two blocks away I found myself lying face down in the street on South…

A storm rarely wakes me up in the middle of the night.  Sunday morning was an exception as a strong storm line moved through the area about 5 o’clock in the morning. I went into the den, a place where lightning storms are often amplified by the large glass windows. However, it was only raining…

I have done a lot of camping in my life.  As a child our family would visit the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in a homemade camper.  It was built in Zeno Windsor’s shop and was covered by a heavy canvas top.  The two double mattresses were custom made and filled with cotton.  When our…

A year-long addition and renovation project at Compass Lake is finally coming to an end.  With two of our grandchildren in the middle of basketball season, Mary Lou and I often spend the night in Dothan to kill two birds with one stone, visiting the lake and attending a game.  We often find ourselves at…

It’s currently Sunday evening in the dead of Winter. Anyone living north of central Florida who steps outside tomorrow morning will likely encounter ice, snow, or unusually cold temperatures. This Winter storm, named Fern, has affected over 200 million Americans, spanning more than two thousand miles — earning its place in the record books.  …

  This week our nation honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a holiday that has now been in existence since 1983.  That was the same year that my youngest daughter was born.  How much has changed since I welcomed her into this world.  How little has changed since Dr. King was honored with a…