Ponderings by Dan Ponder

The movement in the garage caught me off guard.  Whatever it was had rushed out as the garage door lifted.  I thought I had somehow trapped a possum or an armadillo when I closed the door the night before. It took me several days to find out that a big yellow tomcat had taken up…

For nearly a century our family has gathered at Compass Lake for our 4th of July celebration.  The traditions have changed over time, but consist of lots of food, fireworks and the annual Boat Parade. The Boat Parade is at night, with boats decorated with lights and playing patriotic music slowly progressing around the lake…

Americans across the land will celebrate Independence Day this week, also commonly known as the “Fourth of July”.  It is a time for fireworks, family gatherings and barbecues.  At my house, ribs and homemade ice cream always top the menu. This is one of the oldest American holidays, dating back to the very founding of…

The tree house seemed so high when I was a kid.  It was big enough for several kids and even had rails around it to keep us from falling out. Many years later, I returned to the site where the tree house had been built between three trees.  As an adult it was about eye…

When I realized I had a meeting in Cleveland, Ohio this week, my wife and I decided to take a few extra days and explore the city and surrounding area.  It is a city neither of us has ever visited and we had heard some good things about it from several of our vendor friends…

I noticed the email from an unknown sender.  The subject line said simply, “Thank You”.  Despite warnings about opening emails from people you don’t know, I could not help myself, and in this case I was rewarded. It has been 30 years since I have seen Andy Womack.  His father was a trusted employee and…

I never ceased to be amazed at the words that come out of the mouths of children.  I look back and wonder if I ever said anything as clever, witty, or even as thoughtful as the young children of today seem to come up with. During the middle of last week’s family vacation over Memorial…

Like most years, Memorial Day Weekend is the kick off to our family’s summer at Compass Lake.  Our children and their families joined us this past Friday hoping for a long, relaxing weekend, and none of us were disappointed.  Even the boat and Jet Ski cranked up at the first turn of the key, providing…

“We Are Pulling For You, Butch” Recently, a group of Seminole County men gathered for dinner as they do every month or so.  The purpose is to have some fellowship and discuss the issues of the day.  I was quite surprised, but also pleased, when the subject of Butch Moseley and the Dougherty County School…

One Million Miles and Counting It happened this past week while I was about 35,000 feet above Texas.  I passed one million miles while flying on Delta Airlines.  In a sign of how technology is changing our world, I received notification from Delta in an email just moments after landing. Ironically, for many years I…