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The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Grandfather Says: The Dog Days Are Here

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: The Dog Days Are Here

6 Comments July 26, 2018

Grandfather Says: The Magic of Cape Hatteras

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: The Magic of Cape Hatteras

14 Comments July 12, 2018

Grandfather Says: Coyote Countermeasures

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: Coyote Countermeasures

7 Comments June 28, 2018

Grandfather Says: Here’s a Clever Way to Change Neighborhoods

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: Here’s a Clever Way to Change Neighborhoods

20 Comments June 14, 2018

Grandfather Says: He’s a Cowman (He Hasn’t Been a Boy In Years)

By RD Blakeslee

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. ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: He’s a Cowman (He Hasn’t Been a Boy In Years)

11 Comments May 31, 2018

Grandfather Says: The Joy of Teachable Moments

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: The Joy of Teachable Moments

4 Comments May 17, 2018

Grandfather Says: A Few Words About Counterculture

By RD Blakeslee

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" ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: A Few Words About Counterculture

7 Comments May 3, 2018

Grandfather Says: A Lesson on Real Estate Development

By RD Blakeslee

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, ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: A Lesson on Real Estate Development

6 Comments April 19, 2018

Grandfather Says: Net Worth and Real Value

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: Net Worth and Real Value

13 Comments April 5, 2018

Grandfather Says: Something Beautiful That Money Can Never Buy

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: Something Beautiful That Money Can Never Buy

10 Comments March 8, 2018

Grandfather Says: MLK’s Dream

By RD Blakeslee

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 ...

Continue reading Grandfather Says: MLK’s Dream

6 Comments January 11, 2018

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Ralph from West Virginia

By RD Blakeslee

My name is Ralph and I'm a retired US Patent Examiner. I have five kids, all of them in their fifties. Since retiring, I've developed a prize Angus cattle herd. I've also bought and sold real estate that I've held title to, sold timber from time to ...

Continue reading How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Ralph from West Virginia

111 Comments October 9, 2013

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