Impromptu Meeting of the Arndt Boys

[freejoytoo]

Thanks :) :lol: at 'not stiff at all'!

[Palimpsest]

Exact. That vocal pattern drives me up a wall. I can hardly believe it's real.

I had a student who spoke like that at one time. He had some major developmental issues. I still remember asking him what the next verse of a song was about, and his answer was (in Gavin's/the Arndt's inflection) "Sometimes... people go under water...and bubbles come out their nose...and then they DROWN." Irrelevancy, FTW.

I've wondered about the Arndt speech before. It is definitely odd. Is it a regional accent? Or due to only socializing with each other as they were home schooled, sort of like twin language, what's the word, idioglossia? A speech impediment and no speech therapy?

I honestly thought that one or more of the boys (can't tell them apart except for Mark) was hearing impaired at first and didn't want to snark on their speech if that or a speech impediment were the reason. I think a couple of the older Ardnt boys court stenographers going to work with Daddy (so he can protect them from Worldly Temptations I suppose). I can't see how you could do that work if you were hearing impaired.

[ceg045]

I've wondered about the Arndt speech before. It is definitely odd. Is it a regional accent? Or due to only socializing with each other as they were home schooled, sort of like twin language, what's the word, idioglossia? A speech impediment and no speech therapy?

I honestly thought that one or more of the boys (can't tell them apart except for Mark) was hearing impaired at first and didn't want to snark on their speech if that or a speech impediment were the reason. I think a couple of the older Ardnt boys court stenographers going to work with Daddy (so he can protect them from Worldly Temptations I suppose). I can't see how you could do that work if you were hearing impaired.

As someone who's from their area (I'm from St. Louis, they're from Southern Illinois), I can attest that while there is a regional accent (Highway 44 = "Highway Farty Far"), that isn't it. My mom's the SLP in the family, but I'd be willing to bet it has more to do with isolation.

[JenniferJuniper]

I'm pretty good at identifying regional accents, and I also think it's mostly the isolation.

If Daddy Arndt hailed from Nassau County, New York I'm sure the famteam would all sound like the Long Island Medium. But he has an odd way of speaking that might be related to an impediment of some sort and it seems the family has unconsciously mimicked it and incorporated it into their own speech patterns. I don’t know anything about Daddy’s personal history; maybe he grew up isolated as well?

It actually gets worse as you go down the line. Some of the younger kids can barely be understood, which isn't going to be good for their already poor marriage prospects.

Mommy and Daddy have 14 kids, but unless they can get Wizzy married off young, I can see them ending up with no grandchildren.

[adayinthelife]

Seeing this topic reminded me of something I read on the FamTeam Today part of their website.

Jacob on Abortion

I’ve always wondered how pro-abortion people can say a living and growing baby in the womb is something you can just choose to throw away if you decide you don’t want it, and after watching the video in the link Seth shared, it’s so difficult for me to imagine anyone being “okay†with destroying that life or believing a woman should have the right to choose whether that baby gets to live or not.

(bolding mine)

No one has less of a relevant opinion on abortion than the Arndt boys. Maybe socialize with some women who aren't your Mom or sister and come back to me.

[mockingbird]

I'm not making any judgements against people who choose to live at home. A lot of them a prefectly well rounded, well socialsed people who are capable of holding down jobs and interacting with the rest of the human race with no issues.

But, not all are like that. I have a friend who is 34. He's lived at home, with his parents, his entire life. He has a younger brother who left to go to uni at 19 and never came back. Eventually the brother married and moved away.

My friend is a bit stunted in the socialisation department. He has no male friends, except a gay friend from school days. If he goes out at night its with the women he works with. He has very few friends. What he does have, however, is a damn nice bank account, seeing as he makes 100k a year and has almost no overheads (petrol, personal items, that's it). I feel for him, it's like he's stuck at 18, both in the way he acts and his social situation.

A few years ago some friends tried to help him buy a house and move, but it was almost like he was scared to. His parents arn't running a church and are not fundies, but I do think if they'd "helped" him to move out 10 years ago, he'd be a happier, more well rounded individual now.

I feel for these men and boys :(.

I know a few people like that. I used to be pretty good friends with one girl, who was a year older than me. She had never had a job when I knew her, complained that she had few friends besides her mom and she and her mom were so attached that when she told me she wanted to move somewhere else to graduate school, she also said her mom would move there too, presumably to live with her. She actually didn't seem happy about that but didn't seem like she knew how to say no. She would always complain that she was jealous I got to do things like study abroad and move away from home for college (she was too scared). She had similar big dreams, but they would never come to fruition. I remember telling her the only thing holding her back was herself but I didn't know how else to help her. It seemed like she maybe had some anxiety issues compounding a really codependent relationship with her mom (they were the only two in the family). They weren't fundy just weird family dynamics. Like your friend it seemed like her mom did not encourage independence at all and that was holding her back. I'm close to my mom too, but we aren't joined at the hip like that.

The thing is I can see that happening with one or two kids, but all of the Arndts? Every person is different and you have to eventually get one who is not happy with that life and just doesn't care what anyone will think if he moves out or whatever. That is also why I am interested in them.

On the other hand, it IS decently popular where I am from to move back with your parents after college if you have a job in the area. I think that is more a function of the area being a pretty expensive place to live, though, so it's easier to build up some savings if you live at home for awhile. A lot of people are really into our hometown so they do want to move back and most move out at some point.

[truthteller]

You say you know them well, in what context do you know them?

I've known them for about 10 years, through a mutual acquaintance. I'll leave it at that since one of them might actually find this forum and read it. They are nice people but those kids will never marry and many of them will be flat broke because they are all home schooled and there is only so much court reporting and wedding videos to make. They will need several more home businesses to create a life for these guys. I think they have about 9 or 10 kids who are old enough to drive, but only 3 of them own a car. I can't imagine grown men in their 20's and 30's sleeping in bunk beds and sharing a bedroom. By sheltering them so much their parents were successful in raising perfect little angels, but they've also raised them to be totally incapable of living an independent life.

[Morton Fan]

I've known them for about 10 years, through a mutual acquaintance. I'll leave it at that since one of them might actually find this forum and read it. They are nice people but those kids will never marry and many of them will be flat broke because they are all home schooled and there is only so much court reporting and wedding videos to make. They will need several more home businesses to create a life for these guys. I think they have about 9 or 10 kids who are old enough to drive, but only 3 of them own a car. I can't imagine grown men in their 20's and 30's sleeping in bunk beds and sharing a bedroom. By sheltering them so much their parents were successful in raising perfect little angels, but they've also raised them to be totally incapable of living an independent life.

I don't think we're necessarily asking how you met them, as much as how your relationship is with them ... i.e. are you friends? Casual acquaintances? Do they know YOU, or do you just know who they are? Do you only know them in a group setting (i.e. Church or a homeschool group), or have you actually spent time with them individually/as a family?

Do you have any insight into their accents? Have any of the brothers ever courted in any way?

[truthteller]

I don't think we're necessarily asking how you met them, as much as how your relationship is with them ... i.e. are you friends? Casual acquaintances? Do they know YOU, or do you just know who they are? Do you only know them in a group setting (i.e. Church or a homeschool group), or have you actually spent time with them individually/as a family?

Do you have any insight into their accents? Have any of the brothers ever courted in any way?

I met them through their annual softball tournament years ago. Definitely not close friends but acquaintances. Around my area, they are actually pretty well known due to their constant self promotion on local TV and their softball tournament. Rick and Kathy also come from large families, especially Kathy. She comes from a very prosperous family that owns some kind of manufacturing business in town.

To my knowledge, none of the guys has ever been on a single date.

Their dialect is not a regional one. I don't know of anyone else around here that speaks that way. I think it comes from being so sheltered from others and reinforcing it through constant family time together.

[Morton Fan]

I met them through their annual softball game years ago. Definitely not close friends but acquaintances.

To my knowledge, none of the guys has ever been on a single date.

Their dialect is not a regional one. I don't know of anyone else around here that speaks that way. I think it comes from being so sheltered from others and reinforcing it through constant family time together.

Interesting, thanks! Do you know if the dad is from the IL/MO area originally? His sounds more like an accent to me (but more from the East Coast if so - not that most East Coasters sound like him {thankfully}), and then the boys' almost seems like a dialect from being sheltered, etc. as you mentioned.

(Clearly, I am fixated on this accent thing!)

[truthteller]

Interesting, thanks! Do you know if the dad is from the IL/MO area originally? His sounds more like an accent to me (but more from the East Coast if so - not that most East Coasters sound like him {thankfully}), and then the boys' almost seems like a dialect from being sheltered, etc. as you mentioned.

Rick and Kathy are both born and raised here in Belleville, Il.

[Morton Fan]

Rick and Kathy are both born and raised here in Belleville, Il.

So, there went that theory, too. :) Thanks for clarifying. They are some of the most interesting fundies to me.

[Annette]

I've always thought that English was not the dad's first language. That's how accented his speech sounds to me.

[pixydust]

I've always thought that English was not the dad's first language. That's how accented his speech sounds to me.

I think that dad has a speech impediment, and the kids mimic it, because it was what they were taught (like Jodi Foster in "Nell"). I know someone like this, she has a very odd speech impediment that makes her hard to understand, and her son picked it up when he was little and had to go to speech therapy to un-learn it (he would say things like "dha-arr" for "star" at about 8). He still has an odd "accent", and not the eastern NC accent of those around him, at 13, but it is very much improved.

[SisiL78]

I left a comment on the video... wonder how long until its taken down....

[Triplet3]

I happen to live about 10 mins. from the Arndts and I know them very well. They are nice people but VERY different. The older sons are extremely indoctrinated by their dad. They are all carbon copies, they have the same politics, same religious views, same music, TV shows, everything. The parents have instilled this idealistic, magical thinking regarding the opposite sex.

I came across this website when I Googled them out of curiosity. Anybody that wants insight into their thinking should watch this video. It's very telling, especially around the 9:30 mark.

[link=]http://youtu.be/0-L5_QKGvSs?t=9m35s[/link]

Do you know anything about Mary-Elizabeth you could tell us? I'm really curious about how she finds living with so many brothers and no sisters, and whether she has any female friends other than her mother.

[truthteller]

Do you know anything about Mary-Elizabeth you could tell us? I'm really curious about how she finds living with so many brothers and no sisters, and whether she has any female friends other than her mother.

Sorry, can't answer that one.

[truthteller]

I left a comment on the video... wonder how long until its taken down....

I read the comment. Ouch! :shock:

[snickerz]

Truthteller, do you know them well enough to know if they're happy/satisfied with their infantile lives like this, or if any of them seem ready to escape? (Or do any of them seem to want marriage badly enough to actually take the steps of getting to know someone & leaving the family nest?) Do you know if their parents are worried that they'll never marry?

[SisiL78]

I read the comment. Ouch! :shock:

Honestly I think its true. The boys seem to have some delays, they talk in a way that seems childlike. They could be perfectly intelligent enough to work outside the home. Its not unheard of a family having a genetic condition similar to autism or perhaps which is high functioning autism.

There is just no other way that I can see so many grown adults living under the same roof without a single one having the ability or will to leave or have an independent life. At least one should be interested enough in girls that they'd leave, right? THey are pretty good looking boys. But, if they are stuck at the emotional level of children then it very much explains why they are kept home.

I've met a few people in this situation, none of them in such big families. But, you get an adult who on one hand appears normal at first but has no ability to socialize with other adults. They repeat what they hear without understanding it. It was telling that the one son was discussing talking to girls online. I once corresponded with a guy who I met on an online dating site. He seemed great via email and chat. But, I realized that as intelligent as he was he was socially completely "off". Nice guy, rather cute, and had a lot of hobbies that intersected with my interests. But, he couldn't read body language and didn't understand the social habits of other people. He couldn't understand the idea of small talk or deal with the niceties required. He had a real, professional job, a car, and lived on his own (granted not too far from his parents who checked in on him a lot). It was sad because even 10 years later he has yet to lose his optimism but he has not kissed a girl or ever gotten past the 2nd date.

[truthteller]

Truthteller, do you know them well enough to know if they're happy/satisfied with their infantile lives like this, or if any of them seem ready to escape? (Or do any of them seem to want marriage badly enough to actually take the steps of getting to know someone & leaving the family nest?) Do you know if their parents are worried that they'll never marry?

As far as I can tell, they're all quite happy with their lives. I don't sense any regret or unhappiness at all.

I don't think any of the older guys are getting out or trying to meet girls. Then again, I don't know everything they do every day.

I think the parents are believing God will work it out and they will all end up married with families some day. If they're worried, they sure wouldn't tell me. I don't know them THAT well.

[Bbfamteam]

Seeing this topic reminded me of something I read on the FamTeam Today part of their website.

Jacob on Abortion

(bolding mine)

No one has less of a relevant opinion on abortion than the Arndt boys. Maybe socialize with some women who aren't your Mom or sister and come back to me.

I actually had the same thought. The first and last vagina most if not all of those boys will ever see is Mama Arndts the day she gave birth. They have no clue about the real world whatsoever.

[Stanley]

I live in the St. Louis area and know a lot about this family through the grapevine. I have to admit to being kind of fascinated by them. I have often watched their cable access show, which has been running here for about ten years. From what I've heard, Rick used to talk normally, and then, one day realized that his kids were all speaking strangely, so he suddenly changed to his current strange way of talking in an attempt to make the kids speak differently.

It's my belief that the speech problem is a result of Cathy speaking to them in a baby-like singy-songy voice throughout their childhoods. They developed a baby-talk cadence to their speech because that was pretty much all they heard as children. They had very little exposure to adults who would speak in a normal clear manner.

On another note, I did once attend their softball event out of curiosity. Darrell Porter, a former Cardinals player, was there. He gave his testimony about how his Christian conversion helped him get "clean" from a severe cocaine addiction. About a month later, he was found dead from a cocaine overdose, which makes me wonder if he was coked up while giving his testimony at their event.

[Coconut Flan]

On another note, I did once attend their softball event out of curiosity. Darrell Porter, a former Cardinals player, was there. He gave his testimony about how his Christian conversion helped him get "clean" from a severe cocaine addiction. About a month later, he was found dead from a cocaine overdose, which makes me wonder if he was coked up while giving his testimony at their event.

Oh my.

I hope we do find out the origin of their odd speech pattern. They could all surely do with a lot of real world exposure. Trying to survive even two minutes of that video was very painful. I've had better conversations with three year olds.

[Stanley]

The caption on the workout pictures says, "Pre-season workouts are officially underway." I know that's their attempt at a joke, but what exactly is a "season" for them? Don't they just do the one baseball game?

A season for them is more than 100 softball games a year. I believe that they play in three different men's leagues. That's about 1 out of every 3 evenings of the year spent playing softball with the family team, not counting their many practices on their backyard diamond. If any of them find a girl, she will be expected to be there cheering them on for every game.

The softball obsession is Rick's way of compensating for his missed dream of being Major League baseball player. He once played for Mckendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, and had the hope of being discovered by the St. Louis Cardinals. I guess plan B was to breed a team of Arndts and attempt to dominate every local softball league.