Ponderings by Dan Ponder

For over a decade I have written a New Year’s article, often reflecting on past resolutions, how well I fared or failed in achieving those goals and what I planned to do in the coming year.  This year is a bit different as those living near me can well attest. It would be easy to…

It started out as an itch, a way to get out from under the long shadow of my father and grandfather.  Don’t get me wrong, they gave me every opportunity while working for them at the peanut company.   I could not have asked for more, but I was always going to be “Little Dan”.…

We approach Christmas this year in a different frame of mind, at least in Southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.  The world that we know has been turned upside down.  Ten weeks after the most devastating storm in this area’s history we still struggle to find a new normal, a peace, a feeling that the…

The Army-Navy game is a college football rivalry that encompasses much more than the latest polls and bowl game predictions.   It is affectionately known as “America’s Game” because of the way it touches most American families, even if they have no interest in sports. As a small boy, I remember this game as only…

Honesty.  Integrity.  Courage.  Hero.  Dedicated to his country and his family.  A loving father, grandfather, and husband.  A devoted friend. Words are inadequate to describe the life of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States.   Before he was elected to the highest office in the land, he was a successful…

Mary Lou and I made our first visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium this past weekend to watch Alabama handily defeat my beloved Auburn Tigers.  It was not an unexpected result and we must admit that we had a really good time in Tuscaloosa. Given the bitterness of the rivalry, there were almost no fans on either…

There is no doubt this will be a different Thanksgiving Day for my family.  Like so many others in our community, we are trying to find our new normal.  Thanks to Hurricane Michael we are celebrating away from our home this year. There is too much glass in the yard to have grandchildren running around…

For the past four weeks most of my thoughts have been on Hurricane Michael, its power, and the sheer devastation it caused to our community and our neighbors.  Tonight I sat down and watched the nightly news for the first time in a month.  It is no consolation, but others in the world are dealing…

In some ways, Election Day 2018 was a day of paradoxes for me.  I attended three separate meetings with city and county officials before coming home to watch the state and national election returns.  The political overtones of both could not have been more different. The nation had been rushing towards Election Day at an…

It has now been three weeks since Hurricane Michael forever changed the landscape of Southwest Georgia and the panhandle of Florida.   It is an evolving story of destruction, despair, hope, progress and faith. Even twenty one days later, I am still shocked each morning when I walk outside and see my almost treeless yard,…