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Recent Posts
Roberta Sarver
8 hours ago2 min read
Cousin Rufus on the Economy
Image by Ilona Ilyés from Pixabay We hear a lot about the economy in the news. I thought it would be fun to rework a former post about...
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Roberta Sarver
Mar 62 min read
The Unlikely Connection Between Shoes, Post-It Notes, and the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team
Jan Earnst Matzeliger, 1852-1889 Who knew that one young man saving scrap metal, old cigar boxes and pieces of wire could obtain a major...
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Roberta Sarver
Feb 273 min read
Life with the Brady Bunch
This guest post was written by our daughter, Jen, when she was in college several years ago. Enjoy the perspective of one who grew up...
63 views
2 comments
Roberta Sarver
Feb 202 min read
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part Two
Which president's likeness is carved on Mount Rushmore between Washington and Roosevelt? Hint: his image also is on the $2 bill and the...
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Roberta Sarver
Feb 172 min read
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part One
Visiting Mount Rushmore is on many families' summer bucket list. Here's one reason why.
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Roberta Sarver
Feb 132 min read
Social Mishaps
What could be more embarrassing than a fall in a public place?
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Roberta Sarver
Feb 62 min read
LESSONS FROM THE RECOVERY ROOM
You can do what you have to do, whether you feel like it or not.
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Roberta Sarver
Jan 313 min read
Parenting Tips: How to Be Your Child's Lie Detector
Parents: don't let your kids see this post.
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Roberta Sarver
Jan 233 min read
Raising Kids for Success
A new year is here. To parents, it means a fresh start at molding children into productive citizens - training them to be thoughtful,...
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Roberta Sarver
Jan 164 min read
Is That All? A True Story
Special thanks to prolific author PeggySue Wells for permission to use her writing on this week's guest post. ...
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Roberta Sarver
Jan 84 min read
We Survived Play in the Good Old Days
The picture showed a family riding bikes, all wearing helmets and safety gear. Poor things, they’ll never know the freedom of zipping...
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2 comments
Roberta Sarver
Jan 22 min read
New Year Challenge
This is the week we talk about New Year’s resolutions. And, if you’re like some of us, yours may not last long. I would like to take a...
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 24, 20242 min read
The Christmas Truce of 1914
Sometimes the best Christmas gifts can’t be wrapped in paper and tied with ribbons. Sometimes they touch the heart more than what we...
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 22, 20242 min read
The Christmas We Never Forgot
Simple but meaningful family celebration
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 21, 20243 min read
Christmas Gifts: What They Left Behind
Unusual gift-giving by those in the first Christmas.
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 18, 20243 min read
Christmas at Poverty Flats
Simple Christmas memories for a struggling farm family
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 16, 20242 min read
Surviving Christmas Visits with Young Children
Managing peaceful visits with the grands So you’ve committed to hosting the family Christmas get-together at your house. What were you...
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Roberta Sarver
Dec 5, 20243 min read
Yankee Schoolteacher's (Almost) Last Day
Two angry horses and a clueless teacher
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Roberta Sarver
Nov 28, 20242 min read
Copy of Thanks Living at Thanksgiving
Amid the flurry of activity this week, I was reminded of the reason we’re getting together on Thursday. We’re supposed to emulate the...
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Roberta Sarver
Nov 21, 20242 min read
How to Recover Your Memory
Did you hear about the lady who drove away from the gas pump with the nozzle still in her tank? She probably wished she had signed up for...
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Roberta Sarver
Nov 14, 20243 min read
Hearing Loss: It Helps If You Laugh
Do you ever feel frustrated with a friend or relative who has hearing loss? Wish you could help? Then read this insider's view. My...
54 views
2 comments
Roberta Sarver
Nov 7, 20241 min read
I'm Silently Correcting Your Grammar
Grammar foibles from our friends
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1 comment
Roberta Sarver
Oct 31, 20242 min read
Celestial Piano Lessons
Unique piano lessons for one pastor's wife.
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Roberta Sarver
Oct 24, 20242 min read
Drawn Swords/Help, Lord!
How one associate pastor dealt with conflict
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Roberta Sarver
Oct 17, 20243 min read
The Cattle on a Thousand Hills
Unusual answers to prayer
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Roberta Sarver
Oct 10, 20243 min read
Copy of Finding Buck
Did you ever cross paths with someone who was both loveable and exasperating at the same time? Then you will understand in our early...
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Roberta Sarver
Oct 4, 20242 min read
Cousin Cletus and Technology
Dear Cousin Rufus, Greetings from the city...er, country. Not much goin’ on here except shoppin' once in a while and rakin’ leaves in the...
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Roberta Sarver
Sep 27, 20242 min read
Five Things I Learned from People Over 50
Answering those who get annoyed with habits of people over 50
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Roberta Sarver
Sep 19, 20242 min read
Ordinary People Who Changed History
God often doesn't call the qualified; he qualifies the called.
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Roberta Sarver
Sep 14, 20242 min read
View from the Empty Nest
Empty Nest Syndrome: aka Parental PTSD
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Roberta Sarver
Sep 6, 20242 min read
Copy of Life's Simple Pleasures
In honor of Grandparents' Day this Sunday, I submit the following from a longtime grandma - me. Anyone who grew up in the last century...
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Roberta Sarver
Aug 29, 20242 min read
In Defense of Introverts
Some people are born salespersons. They could sell freezers to Eskimos. Then there are the rest of us. I usually end up giving away...
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Roberta Sarver
Aug 22, 20242 min read
The Unlikely Connection Between Shoes, Post-It Notes, and the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team
Jan Earnst Matzeliger, 1852-1889 Who knew that one young man saving scrap metal, old cigar boxes and pieces of wire could obtain a major...
37 views
0 comments
Roberta Sarver
Aug 20, 20241 min read
What It's Like to Be a Dad
Why kids adore their dads.
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Roberta Sarver
Aug 1, 20242 min read
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part One
Just in time for President's Day
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Roberta Sarver
Jul 25, 20243 min read
Murphy's Law: Assault by Batteries
A car that's toast, and three other headaches.
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Roberta Sarver
Jul 18, 20243 min read
The Summer We Hope to Forget
After living in church parsonages for many years, we felt elated to buy a place of our own. However, we weren't prepared for the hazards...
52 views
2 comments
Roberta Sarver
Jul 11, 20243 min read
The Worth of a Dad
What kids said about their dad.
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Roberta Sarver
Jul 4, 20243 min read
First Father Facts
I thought it might be enlightening to dig up little-known facts about the man we call the father of our country. You will find...
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Roberta Sarver
Jun 27, 20243 min read
View from the Bottom Rung
Eye-opening experiences at a homeless mission
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Roberta Sarver
Jun 20, 20243 min read
Ridding Your Home of Two-Legged Pests
Warm summer months are here. When we moved to the Midwest, we learned to deal with mosquitos, chiggers, ticks, and a variety of pests...
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Roberta Sarver
Jun 13, 20242 min read
Nathanael Greene: Quaker Turned Military Hero
What does a peace-loving Quaker do when an outside nation threatens his way of life? That was the issue faced by Nathanael Greene nearly...
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Roberta Sarver
Jun 6, 20242 min read
Granddaddy's Ten Rules For Livin'
Age-old wisdom from an Ozark mountaineer.
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Roberta Sarver
May 30, 20242 min read
Graduation Humor
With all the hoopla surrounding commencement speeches, I thought a little humor might lighten things up a bit. Am I the only one who...
112 views
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Roberta Sarver
May 23, 20242 min read
Bring Back Ben's America
If many of our founding fathers were alive today, they would be crafting things we never dreamed of. Thomas Jefferson invented a way to...
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Roberta Sarver
May 16, 20243 min read
Navajo Code Talkers: Quiet, Tough, Resilient
This Memorial Day we honor those who gave their lives serving in the US military. Perhaps no group deserves more honor than the Navajo...
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Roberta Sarver
May 9, 20242 min read
Mother's Day Letter to My Son
Dear Son, You enjoy unconventional things, right? Well, this Mother’s Day I’m sending a greeting to you. You know that education is...
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Roberta Sarver
May 2, 20243 min read
Mistaken Identity
(Image of a granny, but the one I look like is copyrighted by someone else.) Dear Sis, You won’t believe what happened to me last week. I...
96 views
1 comment
Roberta Sarver
Apr 25, 20243 min read
How to Be Your Child's Lie Detector
Try this on your children or grandchildren.
66 views
1 comment
About Me
I am a wife and mom who also happens to be an English teacher and a newspaper columnist. And, I am the daughter of one of those armchair wits.
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During my childhood, as we sat around the supper table—we were country people who called it supper—our dad told funny stories about things that happened to him that day. And, often he punctuated them with comments about human nature.
It is in tribute to those wonderful insights that I offer this blog, which may make you chuckle and say, “Been there; done that.”
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