May The Fourth Be With You

Thank you Theresa Ann Isaacs, for turning my first sip of coffee into a two-minute coughing spasm with this delightful and disturbing display of photoshop. If there’s a better way on the Fourth of May to say “Have a Nice Day,” I can’t imagine what it might be.

Now, apropos of nothing, a few random notes regarding the impact of this page.

Cookies – Amy Disston – the official baker of mikeroweWORKS and your favorite infrequent flier – has seen the light at the end of tunnel. That light of course, is at the back of an oven, which has been on round the clock now for over a week. In what can only be called an accidental virtual bake sale, Amy has been cranking out nearly 3,000 custom baked cookies for the the benefit of mikeroweWORKS. The dust has yet to settle, but so far, we’ve raised over $12,000. A big thanks to Amy, and everyone here with a sweet tooth and 45 disposable dollars. Your cookies, resplendent with my visage, are in the mail, or soon will be.

Shirts – A big thanks to my dog, for once again agreeing (sort of) to appear on another tee-shirt announcing his doomed bid for President of these United States. So far, The Freddy and the Biped Campaign has generated over $200,000 in total sales. We sold over 800 shirts this last round, and look forward to another version next month. (The dog is fine, by the way, and sends his apologies. He missed his normal Friday rumination due to a bone in the throat and some protracted malaise – to which he’s prone.)

Work Ethic Scholarships – Deadline is currently 5/15. These are the scholarships I raise money to fund. Apply now, if you’d like to be trained for a skill that’s in demand. mikeroweworks.org. (If on the other hand, you don’t think a scholarship should require the recipient to do anything but cash the check, it’s probably best if you avoid that page entirely.)

The Forbes Thing – Wow. That article over at Forbes about mikeroweWORKS was shared over 12,000 times on this page alone. Millions have read it. Much obliged. Now, everybody in the publication world is freaked out and desperate to get me on the cover of everything. (Not really – but I’m told big shots in tall towers were blown away by the response, and thrilled by the resulting conversation. Very cool. I suspect you’ll see much more ink on the skills gap, which is of course, the whole point.)

The Way I Heard It – These little podcasts are so much fun to do, and I’m flattered that people like ‘em. So thanks for listening. If I could write faster, I might have an actual business model, but alas – time and hubris allow for just one a week. So far though – in just over two months, I’m pleased to say that over 4.5 million people have either listened to these short mysteries, or watched me read them on this very page. I don’t know for sure, but I think that’s good. The most recent, by the way – “Sorry, Wrong Number,” is the best so far – though opinions vary. mikerowe.com/podcast.

My Bathrobe – As many of you know, when I’m home, and not otherwise engaged in some industrious or philanthropic endeavor, I prefer to stay wrapped snuggly in one of several luxurious bathrobes, purloined from various hotels and spas around this great country. Indeed, the bathrobe is perhaps the perfect garment to wear when presenting “The Way I Heard It, Redux,” every Saturday Morning on this very page. Last week, someone suggested that I auction off whatever bathrobe I happen to be wearing for the aforementioned scholarship fund. This is not a terrible idea, (though I would miss my robe terribly.) We’ll see. Tune in Saturday morning.

Hot Under The Blue Collar – This little campaign continues to “get traction,” as the marketing people like to say. Many thanks to those of you who have watched and shared these videos. More to come. (Confidentially, Chuck has been nominated for “Best Supporting Actor in a Modest Series of Videos Designed to Challenge Various Myths and Misperceptions Plaguing The Skilled Trades.” True – he nominated himself. And no – there’s nothing else in the category. But still – it’s quite an honor. Check ’em out here. FindSkilledJobs.com

Carry on, and may the fourth indeed, be with you and yours on this find day.

Mike

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