Ponderings by Dan Ponder

“Finally” is a word that is used frequently, but often without a clear understanding of the full implications of the word.  When searching for a definition I came up with several options.  It can mean that something has finally occurred after a long wait.  That achievement often brings with it some sense of satisfaction or…

You might think by the title of this article that I am about to bemoan another close loss by my beloved Auburn Tigers football team this past weekend.  After the close and somewhat controversial losses to both Oklahoma and Georgia, it seems that lightning could not possibly strike a third time.  Alas, my Tigers found…

I suspect I have attended almost 40 Auburn versus Georgia football games, more than almost any Auburn fan I know.  For most of that time, it was like a family gathering given the ties between the two schools.  The wins and losses and even the total points scored were amazingly even up until about a…

What a wonderful day it has been.  Two weeks into Fall, I find myself sitting on our front porch, listening to the steady rain.  That is not a sound we have heard much in the past month or more.  We had one good rain two weeks ago, following almost a month of hot, dry weather. …

My own Granny, not the one I am married to, lived in Monroe, Georgia.  She was Florette Ponder, a first name I have never heard before or since, and a last name I loved so much I married one.  Another story for another time, if you have not heard it already. As children when we…

Mary Lou and I attend a Thursday Communion Service each week at Auburn United Methodist Church.  It is a wonderful respite during these busy and complicated times.  We each have burdens when we walk in the door of the chapel, some more challenging from week to week. Some challenges are known and some unknown, even…

What a weekend it was.  It started with six great friends and my wife at the Friday Football Luncheon.  These conversations with coaches, players and other Auburn fans are more fun when you start the season with two wins and no losses.  By the end of the weekend, the win column numbered three.  A good…

In case you have not noticed, it is finally football season.  If you live in the South, that is an especially important time of year.  If you happen to live in a college town with a team in the SEC Conference, it ranks up there with your wedding, the birth of your children, and well,…

It is that time of year.  A hint of Fall in the air.  Shorter days.  Schools are back in session, and a certain rhythm seems to fall in place following the carefree Summer days.  And then, of course, it is the start of football season.  Coach Steve Spurrier once said that football in the south…

The alarm went off at 2:30 in the morning.  We were in the car just before 4 a.m. making the short 30-minute drive with almost no other traffic on the road.  Our destination was the Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City, Alabama.  Phenix City and some of the areas surrounding it are on Eastern…