Article about Peter Arndt (and family)

[Morton Fan]

I wish the Arndt's kept a more normal blog (well, and more normal life, but that's beside the point) so I could keep better tabs on them. Their website is so odd.

[jockosmom]

It says in the article how the Softball Classic proceeds go to support their ministry. How much does it cost to have a show on Direct TV? Apparently they have a show on Direct TV. Thank God I don't have DTV or I might be compelled to watch it. Then, I'd have to gouge my eyes out.

[Dysfundamental]

I wonder if you just write in and ask them to interview your kid? Cause there didn't seem to be anything remarkable or accomplished about this kid.

Probably. Local newspapers are really focusing on hyper-local news like this, because it's one thing they can provide that the 24/7 Internet and TV news cycles can't. The problem is that "local boy homeschooled" and "local woman grows giant radish" stories are boooooooooring.

[AlexIsAwake]

I wish the Arndt's kept a more normal blog (well, and more normal life, but that's beside the point) so I could keep better tabs on them. Their website is so odd.

I feel the same way. I'm so morbidly fascinated, yet I can't handle looking at their website for more than a few minutes without going cross-eyed. It's very poorly organized, IMO, and you don't get much "real" information about the family.

[0 kids n not countin]

Perhaps they should interview the older guys and ask them how they spend their time. As posted by Luke (who is now 28) a bunch of them did this the other day:

Back here at the house, the little guys slept in until about noon. They got up, ate, and took care of a few small chores. From there, a big group of us played hide-and-seek outside for an hour or two.

Afterwards, we ate homemade pizza pockets (made by Seth and Jacob) and doughnut holes from Tim Horton’s. To cap it off, Mark played a game of Hearts with Caleb, Peter, and David.

I think they’ve all had a good day!

Maybe it's just me, but aren't 10 & 12 years olds just a bit too old to want to play hide and seek (let alone the older ones)? I can't imagine kids that age wanting to play it, and for an hour or two? :roll: Maybe if they were a bit younger 4 or 5 maybe, or even 6 or 7?

[GeoBQn]

Yeah, I can only imagine a 12 year old agreeing to play, volunteering to be the "seeker," then going off to watch TV or play video games while the younger sibling hides in the linen closet for an hour.

[JesusPony]

Even the youngest Arndts are too old for hide and seek. My god. Playing catch and Hearts and getting excited about mundane foods. All day, every day with the same people. How is it that at least one hasn't gone completely beserk by now?

[Joan of Snarc]

Just reading about all these mundane activities in their bizarro-world is about to drive me beserk.

Hide-and-seek, pizza rolls and Hearts. For adults and older kids.

[Dandruff]

Joan of Snarc wrote:

It's the family stuck in 1994: They get older, and the world around them evolves, but everything in their lives stays in '94. Thirty-year-old men play with toys, the "kids" have birthday cake in their parents' bedroom, chores are the same as they were 20 years ago; they age physically, but not mentally. Will the two worlds ever collide?

Thanks for the summary - I see just what you mean. I found them on YouTube, watched one of their videos, and my mind is spinning. Is this nature, nurture, or both? Will one of the older guys ever marry and, if so, where will he find her?

[laura oz]

Thanks for the summary - I see just what you mean. I found them on YouTube, watched one of their videos, and my mind is spinning. Is this nature, nurture, or both? Will one of the older guys ever marry and, if so, where will he find her?

I think it's gotta be nurture. Mama A strikes me as the one in charge of that family, and she aint letting ANY of her "men" go. Ever. Poor guys. They are my catnip, but they do make me sad. If something doesn't change, they are going to die one day and never have really lived.

[fundiemental]

I feel the same way. I'm so morbidly fascinated, yet I can't handle looking at their website for more than a few minutes without going cross-eyed. It's very poorly organized, IMO, and you don't get much "real" information about the family.

I've had a few looks at their website and felt the same, too. And don't they have some subscription thing where if you want to read their archives you have to pay? To read a family blog's old entries? That is so fucking bizarre.

[Trynn]

Actually, it's not TOTALLY out of the realm Of possibility that older people would play hide and seek. We used to do it back at Academy, usually after a power outage, though, but one time they turned off all the lights in the gym and let us play sardines, which is similar. It was reallyfun. And we only ever played it in the dark...

And this wasn't really a regular Occurrence, except for during power outages, which weren't very frequent.

[roddma]

In some ways the Arndt seem more on Fundie liberal side. At least for chores. We've never seen Josh or John David Duggar anywhere near a dish except to eat. But Really how hard could their chores be? Scoping? Drying dishes? That doens't seem like a lot for a1 9 and 21 yr old. I imagine behind the scenes Mary and Cathy do a majority of the grunt housework. I read once about Cathy going on a retreat and saw it a good chance for Mary to use her skills.

[Feberin]

In some ways the Arndt seem more on Fundie liberal side. At least for chores. We've never seen Josh or John David Duggar anywhere near a dish except to eat. But Really how hard could their chores be? Scoping? Drying dishes? That doens't seem like a lot for a1 9 and 21 yr old. I imagine behind the scenes Mary and Cathy do a majority of the grunt housework. I read once about Cathy going on a retreat and saw it a good chance for Mary to use her skills.

I think with chores it is out of necessity since there is only one girl and she came later in the birth order. Had the Arndts been more balanced gender wise then I think the boys would do less.

[johnhugh]

A manboy wrote:

Mark and I just finished up shooting an engagement session in Columbia, Missouri. The strangest thing happened here… While we were walking with the couple to a new spot on campus for some more pictures, we stumbled onto an open grassy area where a fellow was proposing to his girlfriend!

You would have thought this would stir desires up inside them? Or has Mummy Arndt had them all castrated?

[snarkyjan]

A manboy wrote:

You would have thought this would stir desires up inside them? Or has Mummy Arndt had them all castrated?

Their saltpeter bills must be enormous.

[roddma]

I think with chores it is out of necessity since there is only one girl and she came later in the birth order. Had the Arndts been more balanced gender wise then I think the boys would do less.

Yea I thought that too. There was also no need for the 'buddy system' like the Duggars use since.

But when a guy proposes to his girlfriend with no chaperones, it means they must practice wordly dating . I could imagine th electures.

[So Many Lies]

A manboy wrote:

You would have thought this would stir desires up inside them? Or has Mummy Arndt had them all castrated?

Oh wow a real lol. SAHS.

[already hungover]

A manboy wrote:

You would have thought this would stir desires up inside them? Or has Mummy Arndt had them all castrated?

Some of them, particularly Mark, have discussed their desire to get married eventually. It's like they just have no idea how it happens, though. They're all just expecting prospective wives to show up chez Arndt, ready to be carried off into the sunset. So weird.

[Dandruff]

For some odd reason, I'm reminded of the movie 'The Coneheads'...

[Stephanie66]

I have never heard of these people, but can't he read Harry Potter or something normal for his age? (Actually, Harry Potter is probably below his age)

Or, if they have issues with "witchcraft", then why not "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" or the other things that are on the 8th grade curriculum?

I get that he is homeschooled, so he isn't going to be reading any classics, but still. Comic books and cartoon strips, if he enjoys reading, are far below what he should be doing.

As much as I get sick of these fundie large families, at least Kate Gosselin's kids are in an academically challenging private school and are exposed to lots of different people. I bet they fare better, despite their abusive, obnoxious mother, than these kids do.

And why are none of the adult children married and in their own homes?

[JenniferJuniper]

Some of them, particularly Mark, have discussed their desire to get married eventually. It's like they just have no idea how it happens, though. They're all just expecting prospective wives to show up chez Arndt, ready to be carried off into the sunset. So weird.

I wish I could say I agree they are all that clueless, but it just seems more complicated. They aren't completely isolated; the older ones work in the real world and they all watch national sporting events - and all that goes with national sporting events - on TV. They must be defrauded on a regular basis by the women at their co-ed gym. They’ve been brainwashed into believing their way of life is superior, but there is very little smugness in their attitudes. They are terminally cheerful and likeable.

Paul turns 33 this year. He's stunted, but not stupid. He must have figured out by now that a girlfriend is never going to just appear on his doorstep for him or any of his brothers. How can he possibly be satisfied with his life of playing hide-and-seek and Nintendo? And, assuming he's not satisfied, what the hell is he so afraid of?

Questions and more questions about these people, but never any answers.

[Coconut Flan]

I worked with a guy who reminded me of the Arndts. He died at around age 40 never having dated and still living at home with mama. I remember asking him if didn't he want a life of his own and he seemed like he didn't see any way to live differently from how he did. Even though he was working as in a very large company and was exposed to "normal" people every day, he didn't seem to see how he was living as odd or peculiar. He didn't act like it superior or inferior to any other lifestyle just what he should do. I don't know how he became indoctrinated that way and I still don't see how Mama Arndt has done it with entire family to this point.

[bananacat]

Did he really use the term "short pants"? They're not stuck in 1994; they're stuck in 1918. Somehow that term just made everything else seem more absurd. What are these kids gonna do when their parents die? How will they function without someone around to dictate every moment of their days?

[FJismyheadship]

What would happen if one of the boys was emailed about courting or dating or whatever?

Why doesn't Mary Elizabeth have an email address?