Ponderings by Dan Ponder

Like many, I am relieved and thankful that the elections are finally over.  Depending on your political persuasion, you are likely relieved or despondent over the results.  I am cautiously hopeful about this country’s future, but realistic about the likelihood of a divided Congress and President working together. The initial promises of compromise and working…

Having to write a column with the deadline the day before an election can be a challenge.  On the other hand, everyone I know is already sick of politics.  You have been bombarded with television ads, automated telephone calls, direct mailings and hundreds of emails.  Enough is enough! So it was with my own children. …

The dinner is held twice a year on the manicured field of Jordan-Hare Stadium.  You tour the locker room before entering the field through the tunnel, just like the players before Saturday football games.  It is quiet and yet still overwhelming; I can only imagine the intensity of walking out in front of 87,000 screaming…

Usually I write about elections just after the fact.  More often than not, at some point in the article I lament at how poor the turnout was.  The last primary election was no different.  Quite simply, if there was no local race, there was very little local turnout.   For the upcoming election I decided…

One mistake people often make is estimating how long it will take to get something done.  Have you ever misjudged the time required to build a house, save enough for a car, achieve a goal at work, or even educate your own children? Of course, some people look at the time they think it will…

North Carolina has always been a favorite destination of mine.  I camped in the Smoky Mountains with my parents when I was a child, rented homes in Montreat with our own children, and I hiked alone across the state on the Appalachian Trail.  I have spent considerable time in Charlotte and of course, Rocky Mount,…

It seems like it was just a few hours ago that I sat down to write last week’s column.  This was just another of those increasingly frequent weeks that are over before you really know they have begun.    At the Baby Dedication service this past Sunday for my youngest grandson, William Sharp Faulk, I…

Occasionally I have to make an early morning drive down to Tallahassee.   It is an easy drive through some of the most productive farmland in the south.   You see the sun coming up, often with the morning mist in the air.  It is most special when you smell the sweet smell of harvest. If you…

Have you ever known anyone that was better at giving advice than they were at taking it?  Or even worse, they don’t even take their own advice; sort of a “Do as I say, not as I do” type of person.   If not, then let me introduce you to such person.  His name is Dan…

Before any of the ribbing or jokes begins, I’ll admit it . . .  as of Saturday I will be 60 years old.   Six decades!   Happy to be here and happy to celebrate. When my grandfather turned 60, I was 16 years old.   He already had one grandson in college and another that was a…