ROBERTS RUMINATES: Boxed In

Author’s note: These are unprecedented and anxious times. We feel alone and isolated. It’s important to take the spread of Covid-19 seriously. It’s imperative that we do our part by staying home. It’s also impo...

ROBERTS RUMINATES: Buzz Off

It’s time for school pictures again. That means haircuts, which means considerable whining and negotiation. It’s a necessary chore, but the barber always makes it look easy. “I could teach you how to do it y...

Roberts Ruminates: Horrible Creatures

I’ve got a lot of critters in my house. They’re all rescues. Our collie mix came from Marshall County Animal Shelter. We found the tortie cat at Ohio County and the tabby under a bush. Our German shepherd was f...

ROBERTS RUMINATES: A Place for Piles

We tidied up our house the other day. It was in desperate need, and during the miserable exercise — one replete with whining and bickering and arguments about who was absolutely not going to pick up that shoe o...

Roberts Ruminates: Disorderly Conduct

I enjoy getting the mail. There’s always some hope when I go to the front porch each day. Maybe a paycheck has come, maybe a package from Amazon on which I’ve already blown said forthcoming paycheck. Maybe, at ...

Roberts Ruminates: Ode to This Road

The National Road runs like an artery right through our community. It wasn’t originally meant to come through Wheeling, though. It began in Cumberland, Md., and ultimately ended in Vandalia, Ill., but thanks to...