Mike Rowe

When I was eight years old, my Father bought a picnic table at a yard sale for a dollar. A whole picnic table, complete with two separate benches. For one dollar. He brought the thing home in the back of the old station wagon – the one with fake wood paneling on the side – and summoned his wife and sons to examine another tangible expression of true thrift.   “Gather round boys and have a look. They wanted twenty-five dollars for this down at The Sears. Can you believe it? Twenty-five dollars! Your old man just picked it up on Read More

Letter to Mike and company I saw your talk on TED.tv..and wanted to tell you..  I have a 19 year old son who watches your program religiously. He’s a very bright kid; talked for a long time about going into law. A year or so ago..I stopped hearing so much about that. He graduates from highschool in a week or so. Two weeks ago, he sat down with me and said..mom? This is what I want to do. This summer, instead of heading to Oregon to work for his uncle, he’s enrolled in an apprentice program for carpentry. Its a Read More

From the MRW Water Cooler In reading some of your writings I wondered if you feel blue-collar workers are better, work harder or are happier than white-collar workers? Is wishing for a better life for our children limited to one or the other “collars” or is it just the universal hope for “the good life” for our families? — M The reason I think blue and white are so tough to balance, has to do with he fact that we tend to see them as opposites, like weights on different ends of a seesaw. A healthy society knows that each Read More

From the MRW Water Cooler: Q:  At the risk of sounding like an anarchist, or worse, “anti-American” (whatever the hell that means) can I postulate the obvious..Ocham’s Razor, as it were… Won’t most Consumers want to pay the best price for the best version of the commodity they wish to purchase, be it a car or a house or a Washing Machine? Deep down, when dollars are tight, will the averge American-Joe chose to spend more for a car that was “built American” or “built by a non-bailout company” if they can get a better car for less cash elsewhere, Read More

May 25, 2009 Ah yes, I remember – changing the way the way the country feels about hard work, celebrating the trades, and challenging the prevailing definition of a “good job.” It’s all coming back to me. Forgive my scarcity here of late – distractions mount from all sides, as vocation and vacation collide with personal injury and holiday festivities. Let’s work backwards. Today started with a phone call from a retired general, who has become a friend and supporter of mrW. Retired generals get up early, even on Memorial Day, and this one is not terribly concerned about waking the Read More

From MRW Water Cooler: Q: We were lucky enough to get quarterly bonuses for the last two years. This was in lieu of a hourly raise. When things in the company got tight, bonuses were cut. It wasn’t so difficult to adjust to, though, because it wasn’t money we were used to having every paycheck. It was BONUS. I’m thinking this is the way bonuses should be. – Terra Hi Terra Many people share your view, which makes me think a better term than “bonus” should be used to refer to these payouts. For many, a “bonus” is not an Read More

Still: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent…okay maybe not so clean!  From Mike’s forum on Discovery: Q: Mike, I’m not sure where I heard that you are an Eagle Scout, which brings me to my question. Could you PLEASE take a moment & post to my 13 year old son Kelby & encourage him to finish scouting (& anything else that will help with this?) Reason I’m asking is that he only lacks 1 1/2 – 2 years in reaching Eagle, but some of his buddies have got him to thinking scouting isn’t Read More

Is It Any Wonder the Markets Continue to Sink? From MRW Water Cooler: Click here for article from Investor’s Business Daily Q: “A $75 billion bailout for 9 million Americans who face foreclosure, regardless of how they got into financial trouble, is the government’s answer to the housing crunch. Many Americans who have scrupulously kept up with payments are steaming at the thought of subsidizing those who’ve been profligate or irresponsible. With recent data showing that as much as 55% of those who get foreclosure aid end up defaulting anyway, a signal has been sent that America has gone from Read More