Ponderings by Dan Ponder

My Dad never heard of Facebook.   My children were in college before I was ever aware of this new social media site.  It was another decade before I even understood what the phrase “social media” meant. The internet has connected me to the world, both present and past.  I keep in touch with my high…

It does not really matter what the calendar says, if you live in the Deep South you know when Summer has arrived.   I felt that way this past week as the heat and humidity teamed up to make you sweat before eight in the morning. The gnats arrive if you live below the gnat line. …

Two events involving former leaders have put me in a somewhat reflective mood today regarding leadership in general and politics in particular.   The first is the 100th Birthday of President John F. Kennedy.  Kennedy is the first President I have any real memory of personally.  Although I was only in the fourth grade when…

I have six first cousins, with only one living in the south.   We all remain remarkably close despite living thousands of miles apart.  This past weekend Mary Lou and I had the opportunity to visit my cousin Martha and her husband, Peter, who have lived in Southern Utah for over 30 years. It is a…

It was a spotless shopping area located in the area just before the security station for re-boarding the cruise ship in Cozumel, Mexico.  After separating from my two companions, I was walking back alone taking in the sights and sounds of a different culture. In an instant, I was on my knees and hands, before…

After retiring to Florida, my parents bought a rather large boat for fishing and named it the “Why Knot”. Later, when they wanted to cruise more and fish less, they bought an even larger boat and named it the “Why Knot II”.  Their smaller runabout was called the “So What?” In a world full of…

I occasionally have writer’s block, which is to say I have no idea what I will write about for the week’s column. That is not an issue until the night before the deadline. That is when I begin to seriously look for a sign.  Tonight, I was looking for one of those signs. I pulled…

“Who are you and what did you do with the man I married?”    I can remember the words like it was yesterday.  We had only been married for one month and my wife had decided I wasn’t the man she had known for almost a dozen years. Honestly, there were a few little quirks that…