Ponderings by Dan Ponder

Politics is a strange game, never more strange than 2017.  I would not begin to offer any thoughts or reasoning behind all the many unusual occurrences since President Trump took office seven months ago.   I will leave that to the talking heads on both sides that give their opinions non-stop 24 hours a day.  …

I verified one more time that the eclipse glasses in my hand were legitimate, put them to my eyes, and looked into the sky.  Expecting little, instead I saw a sight that will live with me forever; a brilliant, clearly defined picture of the eclipse of the sun. Never again in my life will I…

Cubans have a saying “No es facil” which means “it’s not easy”.  Often they are talking about the challenges in their everyday lives. The saying could just as easily apply to the understanding of the relationship between the United States and Cuba. During our recent trip to Cuba, Mary Lou and I heard another phrase…

This night marks our second night in Havana, Cuba. Mary Lou and I have long had a visit to Cuba on our bucket list and we are enjoying our visit immensely so far.  There has been so much to process that it is hard to figure out exactly what I think. Like many Americans my…

Today, our company is opening its 37th Hardee’s Restaurant.  Located on Capital Circle in Tallahassee, Florida it is a beautiful store sitting up on a hill overlooking 52,000 cars that pass by the site each day.       You would assume after 33 years of building restaurants, this opening would be a piece of cake.  …

When I was a kid, we would visit my paternal grandmother in her hometown of Monroe, Georgia.  I loved the town for many reasons.   Her house was on a hill which gave us the chance to play all sorts of games not possible on the flat land of my own hometown.   There was an…

Who amongst us has never had a time when they found it hard to get a good night’s sleep?  A quick Google search of the phrase will turn up over 24 million hits in one half second.   Many of those articles will discuss everything from the person who has an occasional sleepless night to…

Kayak means “man’s boat” or “hunter’s boat” and were first built by natives of Alaska and other sub-arctic areas.   In use for thousands of years, they were often very personal crafts made by stitching animal skins together.  Early kayaks were often tailor made to fit the owner’s body size. I found my own kayak this…

It is no secret to most who regularly read my column that my family has been celebrating holidays at Compass Lake, Florida for a long, long time.   This extended 4th of July holiday is no exception.   The lake house and a rented condo are packed with my daughters and their families, my nephew and…

I grew up in a multi-generational family.  By that I mean, grandparents and even great-grandparents were always around.  I am happy to say that tradition and blessing continues today as four generations of my family will gather for the 4th of July holiday at Compass Lake. As we grow older, Mary Lou and I continue…