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Articles by Roger Ryberg
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 29, 2026 'Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee' One of the most memorable ad campaigns of 1968 was created for the Sara Lee Brand. Known in stuffy grammar circles as a double negative, the words were simple, creative and poignant. There was no doubt about the message being conveyed. Sara Lee Brands knew right away, unlike Budweiser, Maybelline, Nike and NASCAR, that nostalgia with humor was a winning combination.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 23, 2026 Today's air travel is an adventure Just last week, Susan and I flew to Arizona for a meeting with members of my family. One sister lives in the Grand Canyon State, and the one from Boston was doing an art show in Phoenix. We saw it as an opportunity to show support for both. If anything good happened in those three days, then I'm sure to remember it before getting to the end of this column. But I'm open to suggestions.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 08, 2026 His take on artificial intelligence Back in June I wrote about The Velvet Love Station, the AI technology that plays beautiful music mostly from the 1950s and imagination of IT composers. No titles, no labels, no names and no writers. But it's absolutely real. Sort of. It's the definition of artificial intelligence across the spectrum, from music to medicine, and news to opinion. It needs new laws, if you ask a politician.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: September 24, 2026 He rode the interstate radio waves One of the reasons I appear to be shy and reserved in public is because I spent a hundred thousand hours of my trucking career without Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or Instagram. As a result of my decision to live without social media, I emerged from that self-inflicted solitude with my spirit refreshed and brain mostly undamaged.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: September 17, 2026 Butter and brats: What's fair is fair It's state fair time, and the old man was carefully maneuvering his livestock trailer into a parking spot designated for vendors. Just as he began backing in, a late-model Corvette cut him off and slid in between the white lines.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: September 03, 2026 Now in the heart of a Texas summer, daytime temperatures climb quickly to over 100. That makes the swimming pool at our apartment complex a great amenity. But then, I make the complex look good too. I assumed it would be crowded. I expected a lot of noise. I planned it so there would not be distractions by young ladies and skimpy bikinis. And of course, I assumed that learning to swim at age 5 was sufficient for life.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 30, 2026 Always dress for the occasion I'm ready. When the occasion calls for it, I have the wardrobe. Whether it's a church service, funeral, wedding or potluck supper — often the same thing — I'm prepared for the event. It's called dressing appropriately, and I don't use big words like “dressing" lightly. Recently I read a cruising blog that debated dress codes aboard the ships.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 23, 2026 Fame goes down in flames Most people are not famous. After all, in the words of Will Rogers, someone has to sit on the curb and clap as the parade goes by. But we all wonder, at times, what fame would mean for us as we attend press briefings, autograph sessions and personal appearances.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 16, 2026 It's a beautiful family portrait Recently I received a subscription to Anestry.com and thought it would be very interesting. It wasn't. I thought it would be cheap. It's not. I thought it would bring closure to certain family secrets. It didn't. But I'm not disappointed. After all, I'm one of those secrets. To the relief of some and chagrin for others, we learned I do have parents, and all I had to do for proof was spit in a plastic tube.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 09, 2026 So much for the greatest generation The phrase "OK, Boomer" is more dated than I thought when it was uttered in 2019 by a New Zealand member of parliament. It's a derisive or snide remark, meant to do what derisive and snide comments never accomplish. That is to dismiss or minimize any antagonist born between 1946 and 1964. I'm in that group, according to my smarter-than-average wife, but still at the good-looking end of that spectrum.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 02, 2026 You'll see it all on the East Coast Whether you're driving from Minnesota or Kansas, the East Coast is the same distance, time and trauma. It hasn't changed in 50 years. It's 1,200 miles, takes 25 hours, and the terrifying sound of screeching brakes will still rattle your brain at least once every trip. Interstates 94, 90, 80 and 70 all end where environmental, cultural, political and societal insanity began back in the '70s.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 25, 2026 Velvet Love Station plays the hits Many readers know my knowledge for music is extensive, and all four recently voted me Most Likely To Die From Trivia Overload. I know way too much about nothing and it's affecting m-m-my ability t-t-to think about real l-l-life issues.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 18, 2026 They could shake, rattle and roll There was an earthquake this past weekend and you didn't even know about it. There was nothing about it in the news because there were no papers close enough to report it. There wasn't even a blip on the Richter scale, because Mr. Richter's printer was, like mine, out of paper. But I felt it. I saw it. I heard it, and it was real as the Bermuda Triangle, Area 51, Lights of Marfa or Midnight In Montgomery.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 11, 2026 Meal falls short of Grand Slam If you've been anywhere near Cracker Barrel, Denny's, Ihop or Cheddar's, then you know America's pastime is going out to eat. It used to be baseball. It used to be a picnic in the park. It used to be watching the Chiefs in training camp, before Mahomes messed up his knee, but now it's busting a $20 bill just for breakfast. Even Patrick is squawking about that. I'm not surprised that prices are high.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 04, 2026 He's weighing all of his options Passing through the Knoxville area in the mid-90s, my truck was flagged for inspection at the Tennessee Port Of Entry. Most weigh stations are not Ports Of Entry, but all POEs are weigh stations, manned by the State Highway Patrol. That means I probably won't sway their opinion with my good looks, boyish charm or high school diploma. Because they were in a buoyant mood, it was my lucky day.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: May 28, 2026 Where have all his heroes gone? My brother and I were new teenagers but old hands when it came to Major League Baseball. Thanks to the generosity of Dad's boss, us boys went to see the Minnesota Twins a dozen times every summer. Too young for driving and too old for Halloween, we rode our bikes to Met Stadium and packed snacks in the baseball gloves.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: May 21, 2026 It's a busy day in music history In the history of modern music, it's often a slow news day. That's not the case today as I gaze into my crystal ball and check the rear-view mirror. I can't find my car keys some days, but it's always fun to find out what did not happen on this date during the last hundred years or so. Just recently we read about billionaires during the birth of our nation.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: May 14, 2026 He brakes for all kinds of things You've seen the bumper sticker that says "I brake for animals" or "I brake for kids" and one I don't even understand that says "I brake for garage sales." If anything, when I spy that sign, it seems prudent to speed up because we have too much stuff already. When you share a thousand square feet, after all, any stuff is too much stuff. I'm not dissing safe driving.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: April 30, 2026 He fails his shot at play-by-play I grew up believing sports play-by-play was the perfect outlet for someone articulate, smart, and quick-witted like me. It could also be argued that I talked too much and no one unarmed could shut me up. When I wasn't talking, I would listen to Mitch Holtus, Denny Mathews, Paul Allen and Kevin Harlan. And nothing compares with an announcer who can validate the emotions of his audience.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: April 09, 2026 No good deed goes unpunished When I was a kid, my dad had a neighborhood reputation as a good Samaritan. When someone needed a flat tire changed, battery charged or car moved, he was there with a four-way wrench, booster cables or tow chain. If someone needed a ride or a dollar, Dad was there with the wheels or a buck.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: April 02, 2026 We accepted an invitation to dine out with friends at Lidia's Italian Restaurant in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It wasn't just a culinary escape from the offerings in Wichita, but an experience reserved for the "In" crowd west of the Mississippi. It's also the kinda place you go to if money doesn't matter. That's because when you leave, you won't have any, and that's good because the parking is free with dinner.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: March 26, 2026 These songs can give you the chills Do you believe in ghosts? Me neither. But sometimes there's no explanation when we hear things that never existed. This is especially true at 3 in the morning, trucking across the Nevada desert. Or the piney woods of northern Alabama. Or in the middle of the Florida Everglades. Helping us get there, or perhaps driving our paranoia even deeper, are country songs that set your dentures to chattering.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: March 05, 2026 The more things stay the same You've seen the commercials. You've heard the radio spots. You've read the magazine ads featuring gleaming white buses passing idyllic seaside images. Passengers are happily chatting with their equally mesmerized seatmates, laughing at the passing scenery, while the onboard tour director points out Antebellum mansions presiding over cotton-producing plantations.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: February 26, 2026 The beat of a different drum I was a drummer as a youngster, and a pretty good one. In grade school, my drum set was anything I could bang out a rhythm on, including bongos, garbage cans, car hoods or tabletops. In high school, I carried a snare drum on the football field, cymbals on parade, and played tympani in the concert band.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: February 12, 2026 Don't look under the bed The first time I sold a home was in 1984 and interest rates were 13 percent, which would triple the cost of a mortgage, so the market looked really bleak. In the first of two 90-day sales contracts, there wasn't a single bite.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: February 05, 2026 His mother was a cook, too I just read a most interesting feature story on Fox News. A 36-year-old mom of seven named Mary Nellis of Westchester, New York, has decided to cook every day for a family of nine. Takeout food was around $200 per week so she turned to cooking while her husband was in the military.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: January 29, 2026 His cars were not so classic Like most guys, I like bragging about cars. Our car is a 5-year-old Chevy Equinox bought as an economical coffee shop commuter and grocery grabber. While it has fulfilled its mission and delivered countless rounds of freshly brewed Folger's, it will never stand out in a car show. You will never see it on stage at a Barrett-Jackson auction. It won't even be easy to spot in a Walmart parking lot.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: January 22, 2026 This is how he deals with stress Reminiscing about 2025 recently led to researching the five most stressful events in a person's life. They include major illness, loss of a loved one, divorce, job loss and moving. This in turn can lead to fatigue, indigestion, anger and sleeplessness, Well, I learned last year what a nephrologist and otolaryngologist are.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: January 15, 2026 The perils of being left-handed My earliest memory of being left-handed was on the Little League baseball field. As an outfielder, I had to wear my brother's glove and then drop it so I could throw the ball. While that was a little cumbersome, I could pick off unwary runners with a lightning-fast return to the infield.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: January 08, 2026 A wrap: Newspapers and ice fishing One of my lifelong pleasures as a gear-jamming road warrior has been reading newspapers. I got this from my parents, who were both frequent contributors to the weekly news cycle. One, because she wrote for the newspaper, and the other because he was frequently mentioned in them.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: December 25, 2025 Things come and things go In my 40-year career as an over-the-road trucker, I've worked for big-city carriers, small country outfits, dynamic producers and a few that were on life support. Pulling dry vans, reefers, lowboys and tankers, I worked for cheapskates, misers, fortune hunters and even entrepreneurs.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: December 18, 2025 There are things he's never seen My father often said people who love money or sausage should never see how either one is really made. Despite YouTube, Facebook Live and Instagram, there are some things better left unseen. That would include repo drivers, televised surgeries, street rioting and my savings account.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: November 20, 2025 ‘Something' concerns doctor About a month ago, my cardiologist ordered a sonagram of my heart, and was relieved to see I had one. He was concerned, however, by "something" he didn't like, and scheduled a visit to the catheterization lab at Newton's NMC Hospital for last Tuesday. Well, I didn't like the "something" part but figured the cath lab would answer us both.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: November 06, 2025 Review, like most Americans Twice this year I've celebrated with newly minted American citizens. The first time last January was a friend from Topeka who works for one of that city's largest employers. The second was last week in Texas, where Susan's daughter-in-law was officially granted her U.S. certification. My friend Hans and his wife are from Germany, and so is his employer, but he has called Topeka home for 15 years.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 29, 2025 He had a heart for rock 'n' roll He and his twin brother were born at a very early age, but Jesse Garon was stillborn. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Priceville Cemetery. The surviving twin occasionally wondered about it but was never able to locate the plot. By the time he started school, he had shown a talent for singing, and one of his favorites was "Peace In The Valley," written by Thomas Dorsey in 1939 for Mahalia Jackson.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 23, 2025 Do you know who the twin is? The father was a parolee from prison and failed bootlegger, but mother had a tougher time with it. A passionate but uneducated Christian, she was a doting but strict parent. But even as her twins were born in the heart of an impoverished Dixie, there was an outlet for exuberance. An unremarkable student in elementary school before starting high school, there were few opportunities for one so blessed.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 01, 2025 Dollars and sense of direction I have three sets of GPS at my fingertips. One is my iPhone, another is Onstar, and one more is built into the car stereo. But wait. I also have a road atlas tucked under the front seat because, unlike modern technology, maps have never failed me. There's also the cost factor.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: October 09, 2025 It's all a matter of perspective I was scheduled to pick up a load at a recycling yard in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. To get where the freight was, I had to wind my way through row after row of crushed cars, stacked higher than my truck. Then after getting loaded, much to my dismay, I had go back the way I came, but in reverse.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: September 17, 2025 This is how his career got started I started my trucking career in 1978 the same way everyone did back then. The agency manager of a national moving company based in Minnesota casually tossed me a set of keys. "These belong to a Ford cabover parked out back," he said, "and it's hooked up to a 40-foot furniture van loaded for Dallas.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: September 10, 2025 Great Day' with Ernie Haase I know a lot about music. I know about Billboard charts, biographies, and the places where music was born, lived, thrived and died. I even know the cost of getting famous. If you have to ask, of course, you can't afford it. I can also tell you how exciting it is to sing in public, and what it takes to keep the few friends I have left.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: August 21, 2025 Office makes toothache bearable I recently had to schedule an appointment with an endodontist, but then saw an advertisement to hire one. The pay scale was $400,000 to $800,000 per year, so I told him I could start first thing Monday morning. He didn't laugh, but did suggest that a high school diploma and commercial driving experience were probably insufficient qualifications.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: August 06, 2025 And now you know their name Lester "Roadhog" Moran and his Cadillac Cowboys burst on the country music scene in 1974 after just a few weeks of rehearsals. Their first album sold hundreds of copies and cemented the group as truly forgettable in the annals of Nashville history. Backed by the fiddle of Buddy Spicher and Bob Moore on bass, their cover of "Why Baby Why" became part of Music City lore.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 30, 2025 A friend called me recently from Minnesota and asked if I would accompany him from Wichita to Oklahoma. Sure, I said, and when are you leaving? His answer was, "Yesterday." This from a guy who maps out breakfast weeks in advance. At his age, he shouldn't be traveling, but he is. At my age, I shouldn't be surprised, but I was. Still, when a friend calls, we go without thinking it through. And you know me. I don't spend enough time thinking.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 23, 2025 I just returned from a visit with family in Arizona, and every minute with them was serene. Every moment leading up to it, however, was expensive, chaotic, funny or instructive. My 84-year-old sister lives in a Flagstaff nursing home, where she shares the dinner table with three like-minded rascals named BJ, Bess and Teresa. All four ladies are in their 80s. All four are assertive, opinionated and mischievous.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 17, 2025 Twice bitten, but still not shy It was January 1988 and my first of 600 weeks with a Missouri-based carrier. Destined to make a major splash in the world of NAFTA, the company back then was just another trucking firm trying to profit from the '80s Those of us in orientation class were, at best, a motley bunch of renegades, wranglers and rookies fresh off the reservation. Before the week was out, two different drivers hit me up for a loan.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: July 02, 2025 I had picked up a crew in Wichita going to their train in Salina. The trio included a young rookie on his first deployment as a conductor. His mentor (and conductor of record) was a 65-year-old railroader who went by the name "Mad Dog." Along with the engineer, they were deadheading to their train. I have often observed these guys have a great deal of respect for each other. But you know me, and I couldn't let that stand.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 25, 2025 Some people driving American streets and highways see trucks as a roadblock. Others see them as a necessary evil. Still others acknowledge their usefulness in supply chain logistics. A few even suggest they should be banned. Of course, just how those few would find food, clothes, furniture, medicine or fuel without trucks is a question they've never answered. It's true.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: June 04, 2025 Right off the bat, I need to issue a disclaimer. My awesome and loving bride of 10 years is the final and best proofreader of my column. But there's a concern. Her risk tolerance is zero. She can squeeze 30 cents out of a quarter, mow the entire yard for just a buck, and make a hundred-dollar meal with Walmart ingredients. But Susan wouldn't part with a penny at a nickel slot machine.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: May 22, 2025 I recently came across a list of someone's top 100 trucking songs, and immediately applied for Social Security benefits, because I must be older than dirt. The list included songs I never heard of, even as a broadcaster, by artists I'd never listen to. They included Foghat, Pearl Jam, Guns & Roses, The Grateful Dead, Led Zepplin and Bruce Springsteen Today's old-timers are apparently a lot younger than I remember.
Ark Valley News - A likely story
A likely story By Roger Ryberg Last Updated: May 14, 2025 Trucking down southwest Missouri Highway 59, it's a very scenic drive. And very narrow in places. As I passed a northbound reefer, we actually touched mirrors with a resounding clack. "Are you OK?" he quickly hollered on the CB. "I'm OK!" I hollered back, and continued without slowing down. Some weeks later, attending the monthly drivers' meeting, I mentioned this non-incident to a senior vice president.
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