Ponderous thoughts I was pondering ...

Even the Dalai Lama enjoyed my "Ponderous Thoughts" columns, it seems.

Well, that was a familiar way to start a column … and that's how I did it for most of my 41-year tenure at The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Mass.

As a multi-award-winning sports columnist, I had the latitude to write about whatever tickled my fancy. But perhaps none of my columns were as popular as the "notes" pieces I'd put together under that opening phrase. I'd weave short snippets on 20 or more unrelated topics into what became known as my "Ponderous Thoughts" columns, and even now, coming up on two full years of my retirement, former readers stop me on the street and tell me that's what they miss the most in their daily newspaper.

And since I was looking for a recurring theme for some of these blog posts, I could think of no better way to start them than to dust off the old standby. It's not as if the "Blue Ribbon Daily," as I used to call it, owns any intellectual property rights to the phrase.

So, welcome back to the Ponderous Thoughts … as in, "Ponderous thoughts I was pondering while limping to the freezer in search of more ice for the bag on my knee …"

Trying my best to mow.

** Today's Knee Update: Sore, but not excruciating. I managed to mow about two-thirds of my back yard yesterday and it was a struggle -- not just because of the reduced mobility, although my brace performed well, but because of the heat. It was still in the high 70s when I ventured out, and I'm not yet in mowing condition. Last year, it really took me until July to be able to walk the full three miles (on two good knees) at a brisk pace in a single afternoon. Right now, that three-hour job is taking three days to complete. That won't do.

** Sometimes I'm not sure which is more disturbing -- the news that U.S. deaths from the coronavirus have exceeded 100,000, or that there's a new class of morons emerging from under rocks that is blaming the news media for "artificially" inflating those numbers in order to create panic and intentionally suppress the economy.

Yeah, sure. That's the ticket. The news media, already one of the most vulnerable industries in this economy because people have become too stupid to read or too charmed by the personality cult of the current dictator wannabe in the White House to accept facts that may be contrary to his lying narrative, is trying to kill the economy. How stupid are these people?

And as an adjunct, there's another conspiracy theory going around that claims that the only people that have died from  COVID-19 are seniors living in nursing homes, and the casualty numbers have been inflated. The clear inference here is that anyone over 60 is worthless to society anyway, so let them die. Everyone else should throw away their masks and raise their AR-15 assault weapons in celebration of 'Merica.

My response is usually to tell the most virulent of these posters to go take a deep breath inside an emergency room, and then get back to me in a couple of weeks.

Jerks. I sometimes wonder if we have a society worth surviving.

Mansfield native Paul Souza.

** Many of you know my friend, Paul Souza, from his days as an outstanding athlete -- 1,000-point basketball scorer and champion high-jumper at Mansfield High who developed his high-jumping skills further at Penn State, later becoming the very successful track coach at Wheaton College for many years. Others will remember Paul for his musical talents, as lead singer for a number of bands (the most familiar among them being the Velveteen Playboys). He now lives in Indianapolis with his family and is still active in both music and sports.

Paul is also suffering from COVID-19. But I'm happy to report that he is recovering at home, following a brief hospitalization, from the pneumonia that accompanied his infection. He is definitely one of the lucky ones and I wish him and his family the best as he continues to battle his way back to good health.

Brownies! The line forms here.

** I'm not much of a cook, which is why I have done a lot of takeout during the pandemic. But cooking can be therapeutic, and I was definitely in need of all sorts of therapy last night, as my legs and feet were throbbing.

So I made brownies. And they are delicious.

Nothing fills a house with a better aroma than that of brownies baking in the oven -- especially when they come out right. I used the three-egg option to make the brownies more cake-like, and they did not disappoint. Now, the challenge is not to pig out totally and elevate my blood sugar beyond acceptable levels by gobbling them up all in one sitting. I will endeavor to show some restraint.

But damn, they're good.

Kristen McDonnell's coffee and snack.

** As I have mentioned in the past, guests on my podcast, "The Owner's Box," receive a 13-ounce coffee mug, embossed with the podcast's official logo, in return. I've posted photos of mine, but now I'm proud to post some of the photos I've received from past guests who've put the mugs to good use.

Norwood High boys' basketball coach Kristen McDonnell, a two-time guest, gave me a look at the first use of her mug, next to a morning fruit plate. Media power-couple Jack and Lisa Edwards, who've accounted for three appearances covering hockey and the NFL, let me know that the two mugs shipped together made it to them unscathed. And this very morning, I got a text message from baseball writer Maureen Mullen telling me that the mug works equally as well with tea as it does with coffee.

Maureen Mullen's tea has a nice home.

Some may suggest, "Why are you giving out mugs for your rinky-dink podcast?" To that, I would respond that what may have started out as rinky-dink has begun to receive a considerable amount of attention. Last month, this blog's tally of total views jumped by nearly 1,500 in just a week's time, which ain't half bad. In fact, it's pretty damned good for a guy whose newspaper was down to about 8,000 daily subscribers (from a high of 26,000) by the time I was laid off five months shy of my planned retirement.

The truth is, I'm enjoying it. It's still fun to interview people, and I had been told all my life that I should do something worthwhile with a voice that was broadcast quality. I'm now trying to do that, not only with the podcast, but also with the play-by-play work I do for basketball and football games for North Attleboro Community Television, Mansfield Cable Access and Foxboro Cable Access.

The Edwards family is well-mugged.

I also want people to know that I appreciate their participation on the podcast. I know that back in the day, when I used to appear on radio shows or do speaking engagements, I appreciated the little keepsakes I'd occasionally receive. And as these photos illustrate, who can't use a new coffee mug?

I did mention earlier this week that I'm going to slow down the production of new podcast episodes a little -- not because I'm getting tired of it, but because I'm not following the original plan for frequency of the podcasts, and in essence, I'm racing ahead of myself as a result. I just need to adjust the pace a little so I don't negatively impact the quality -- and exceed my monthly storage allotment for uploaded episodes, too. Rest assured there are more episodes in the pipeline -- and for you potential guests, I have plenty of mugs to give out!

** That's it for this resumption of the Ponderous Thoughts. See you again soon, and please, stay safe.