It's time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe ...
Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what's been going on in the world of money and personal finance.
Len asked me to fill in for him while ...
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Grandfather Says: The Family Trip to Maine
Grandfather remembers the family trip to Maine.
That was in 1961 and the family was Grandfather-yet-to-be, Grandmother-yet-to-be, a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
The son was left with friends and the "Three ...
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Grandfather Says: The Dog Days Are Here
Grandfather says the dog days are a' settin' in ...
Have you ever been kissed by a dog taller than you are?
Or owned a dog that could levitate?
We tried to name him Sammy Davis Jr., but the American Kennel Club doesn't have the ...
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Grandfather Says: The Magic of Cape Hatteras
Grandfather says Cape Hatteras is a special place.
He and the family have been visiting there for nearly 60 years.
Grandfather says he remembers when Paul Mellon bought most of the undeveloped Hatteras Island shore and gave it to a national ...
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Grandfather Says: Coyote Countermeasures
Coyote predation, once a problem limited to the American West, has spread to pet and livestock owners in the Eastern US.
So Grandfather built a blind overlooking one of his pastures, where he could sit and watch for coyotes and take appropriate ...
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Grandfather Says: Here’s a Clever Way to Change Neighborhoods
Grandfather says he moved his house once.
When the road in front of it was widened, he moved it out of the way, up to the top of a hill on his place. That was before the family moved where we have been for 40 years now.
Grandfather learned a ...
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Grandfather Says: He’s a Cowman (He Hasn’t Been a Boy In Years)
Grandfather says his Angus cattle herd produced five steer calves which measured up to those produced by modern breeding methods from some of the biggest herds in the US, in the American Angus Association's national carcass quality contest in 1991. ...
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Grandfather Says: The Joy of Teachable Moments
Grandfather says he's not much taken with teaching credentials.
To hear some "educators" talk, one would think nobody could learn anything without their expert ministrations.
Well ... here's a case where Grandfather taught something without a ...
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Grandfather Says: A Few Words About Counterculture
Grandfather says he has been a fan of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, ever since he can't remember when ...
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "To be great is to be misunderstood."
Grandfather says he hasn't had much truck with "greatness" ...
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Grandfather Says: A Lesson on Real Estate Development
Do real estate developers necessarily build a whole subdivision of houses or something like Donald Trump's tower?
Well, Grandfather says ... "No."
When integration came to America's public schools, a "colored" school in Union, West Virginia, ...
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Grandfather Says: Net Worth and Real Value
Grandfather gets unhinged when the subject of his net worth comes up, because it bears no relation to his values and enjoyment of life.
Is he a millionaire? He says that depends on the price of local real estate next week, which is of no interest ...
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Grandfather Says: Only Clean Firewood Will Do
Grandfather says he doesn't mind a little frumpiness indoors, but the missus wants only clean firewood in the house.
Well, OK; Grandfather will have to abandon the woodpile and store the firewood under roof.
No spare roof onsite?
The missus ...
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Grandfather Says: Something Beautiful That Money Can Never Buy
One of the things we all have where money doesn't count is the sky.
Grandfather pays attention to it and says he will miss it when he's six feet under.
***
About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian from West Virginia who ...
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Grandfather Says: Grandfather’s House and Custom Built Stairs
In the first article in this series, Grandfather talked about building your own house.
Here's his during the build:
And here's where Grandfather lived while his house was being built:
When he was younger he and his friends (most now ...
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Grandfather Says: The Importance of Self-Confidence and Independence
Grandfather says self-confidence and independence go hand-in-hand.
From his earliest days, Grandfather marched to his own drummer. In first-grade at elementary school -- a barracks-like structure with a classroom at each end and a coal furnace in ...
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Grandfather Says: The Travails of Working with Stone
Stone. Grandfather says he thinks it's one of the substances that's been intertwined with everything mankind has done from time immemorial.
There was the interaction of the Alps, elephants and Hannibal in 218 BC. Somewhat later, there was ...
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Grandfather Says: MLK’s Dream
He imagined a man who walked about the country telling everyone he met: "I wish we could all live Martin Luther King's dream where we didn't see anyone's skin color anymore."
Grandfather imagined the man started attracting the attention of the ...
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Grandfather Says: The DIY Harpsichord
Grandfather built a harpsichord once; in 1970.
It was an "expressive" double-manual, incorporating many of the traditional French/Flemish characteristics, but with some modern materials, like Delrin plastic for the plectra.
It was a kit, but ...
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Grandfather Says: A Few Words on Religious Conviction
Grandfather says religious conviction is a funny thing.
Not ha-ha funny; wondrous funny.
It propelled the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Spanish inquisition, the Knights Templar and Billy Graham's Crusades ...
But its expression is uneven. And ...
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Grandfather Says: Thanksgiving Greetings from West Virginia
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 ...
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