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Grandfather Says: Thanksgiving Greetings from West Virginia

By RD Blakeslee

Some folks hereabouts have wondered what Grandfather “at home” looks like.

Well, here’s a scene for you …

It occurs to Grandfather that he looks like a hick in that particular picture.

But, as you can see, his living room looks quite opulent …

Well, Grandfather says it just illustrates a basic contention of his: One lives a more fully-satisfying life in the country, away from urban centers.

Grandfather says he doesn’t do chores in his living room and he doesn’t live in his barn, but he is at liberty to enjoy both.

LIBERTY.

Hear?

Happy Thanksgiving.

***

About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here. This article was originally published on 23 November 2017.

Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife

November 25, 2021

Question of the Week

Aside from the US, which of these G7 countries have you visited?
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Comments

  1. 1

    Len Penzo says

    I hear you, Dave!

    A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, my friend!

    • 2

      RD Blakeslee says

      Thank you, Len.

      And may you and yours have a very happy Thanksgiving, also.

      Several of my progeny and their progeny are coming here to dinner.

      Wife Tatjana is an excellent cook, sculptress, portrait painter interior decorator and she knows how to cut my hair in layers so I’m presentable at the dinner table

  2. 3

    Sara King says

    RD and Len,

    Happy Thanksgiving to you (and to all of Len’s readers)!!!

    Sara

    • 4

      Len Penzo says

      Happy Thanksgiving, Sara!

  3. 5

    Sandy says

    I enjoy your musings Grandpa! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    • 6

      RD Blakeslee says

      Thank you, Sara and sandy. Happy thanksgiving to you-all.

      Sandy, for my part I enjoy hearing from my readers.

  4. 7

    andy says

    RD,

    Like your fuel tank in the first photo….500gal ? Diesel ?

    Wish I could post a photo….I’d show you my homebuilt “gas station”. Shed with a 300gal gasoline and 250gal diesel tank up on a platform in the top of the shed, plumbed to hoses/nozzels so I can gravity fill the tractor and various things around the farm.

    I recently bought a couple of used 500gal tanks, cleaned them out good and painted the outsides. I’m adding an 8kw diesel backup generator to my solar power system to recharge the battery bank when needed, and will use them for fuel storage for that generator.

    • 8

      RD Blakeslee says

      Andy,

      500gal diesel tank. Right.

      Yanmar diesel engine-powered 8KW Northstar generator for backup when the grid goes down (happens fairly often here), diesel pickup truck and some diesel farm equipment. We can get along entirely self-contained here for six months.

      Re your second paragraph: I wish I could see those pictures. I think Len would, too. Could you try again to get your story on http://lenpenzo.com/blog/id20157-wanted-readers-who-make-ends-meet-on-40000-annually-or-less.html ?

      • 9

        Len Penzo says

        We’re working it, Dave. It’s on me now to put aside some time to get the ball rolling now with Andy.

        • 10

          RD Blakeslee says

          Bible says “look to the ant”, but when it comes to getting the ball rolling, I’m thinking it’s the dung beetle …

          Looking forward to Andy’s way of going.

        • 11

          Len Penzo says

          LOL! Very true, Dave. Very true.

  5. 12

    Madison says

    Happy Thanksgiving, Grandfather!

    Forget the turkey. I’m getting stuffed on cherry pie today!

    • 13

      RD Blakeslee says

      We’re having Both – Cherry pie AND turkey!

      … and Happy Thanksgiving to you, Madison.

      Hope you have a living room AND a barn, someday … (-:

  6. 14

    Sam I Am says

    I hear you, but liberty left the building in 2020. We need to get it back.

    • 15

      RD Blakeslee says

      Liberty did indeed “leave the building” – but the city’s building, mostly.

      It remains defacto, so to speak, in the countryside.

  7. 16

    Derek H says

    Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
    Thank you for sharing the pictures, Grandfather.

    • 17

      RD Blakeslee says

      You’re welcome, Derick

  8. 18

    RD Blakeslee says

    For those of us who can appreciate a beautiful summary of our founding as a nation and Thanksgiving as a remembrance of it, I recommend:

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/11/25/mansour-the-pilgrims-progress-honoring-our-forefathers-on-the-400th-anniversary-of-the-first-and-most-expensive-thanksgiving/

  9. 19

    Susan says

    I’m thankful for YOU! You are a treasure Grandfather and I love reading your thoughts every week in Grandfather Says and elsewhere on this blog and the rest of the internet (I’ve seen your comments on Wolf Street too).

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    • 20

      Len Penzo says

      I’ll second that! 😃

  10. 21

    RD Blakeslee says

    Thank you, Susan and Len.

    It’s heartwarming to know my writing is appreciated.

  11. 22

    bill says

    Happy Thanksgiving Mr. Dave, and everyone else.

    Mr. Dave, you look like a man who works outside because he likes too, and likes his nice house.

    • 23

      RD Blakeslee says

      Bill, I can’t work outside anymore (or do much indoors, either) anymore. But I certainly do enjoy my house and my wife and children and my memories.

Trackbacks

  1. Black Coffee: The 12 Bubbles of Christmas Edition - Len Penzo dot Com says:
    December 25, 2017 at 8:29 pm

    […] Grandfather Says: Thanksgiving Greetings from West Virginia […]

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