Back Home Again In Brookville Indiana

One of the best examples of giving back ever! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Esas8nkCT/

Nobody in Walton County knew who was buying up the Panhandle. Timber companies sold him tract after tract. Sod farms. Played-out peanut fields. Pine that had been cut and cut again. The buyer was a timber and oil commodities trader, and he never told a single seller what he wanted it for.

He was buying it so it could NEVER be developed again.

Marion Clifton Davis grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in the Florida Panhandle. He summed up the whole childhood in one sentence: "I grew up with five other people in 300 square feet in a wore-out trailer on a dirt road."

He gambled his way out, hustling pool and poker from the time he was 16 until he was 30. It paid for a political science degree and then a law degree. He moved the winnings into land and mineral rights, and they turned into hundreds of millions of dollars.

He had spent his entire life climbing out of that trailer, and he got all the way to the top of it. Then he said this: "I finally made some money and it wasn't what it was advertised to be."

What changed him was a traffic jam. Stuck in a line of cars going nowhere, he read a high school marquee advertising a presentation on the Florida black bear. He pulled out of the line and walked in.

"I hate to confess to this. I didn't know Florida even had black bears at the time." He gave the two women running the presentation enough money to keep going for another two years, then asked them for a reading list and spent the next year working through Thoreau, John Muir, and a Harvard biologist named E.O. Wilson.

In 2000, he started buying. He spent roughly $90 million assembling more than 50,000 acres along the Choctawhatchee River, tract by tract, never tipping his hand until each deal closed. He named it Nokuse. It is the Muscogee word for black bear.

Then he did the thing no land man does. He took it apart. His crews thinned 22,000 acres of pulpwood pine and hand-planted EIGHT MILLION longleaf seedlings across 24,000 acres, scattered in deliberately random patterns so the forest would never come back in rows. They burned about 10,000 acres a year on purpose, because longleaf needs fire.

He told people it was a 300-year project.

In 2009 he spent $12 million of his own money on a 28,000-square-foot science center for Panhandle schoolkids. He named it for E.O. Wilson. Not for himself.

In November 2014, doctors found stage 4 lung cancer. He kept working. That June he sat down with a national radio crew and said it plainly: "I'm dying, as we all are. It's well advanced."

He got 15 years of the 300.

M.C. Davis died on July 11, 2015, eight months after the diagnosis. Not one tree he planted had grown tall enough to matter yet.

He spent thirty years learning how to take. He spent the rest putting it back.

Around here, thousands of Panhandle fourth graders get loaded onto a school bus and driven out to that center. Almost none of them ever find out who paid for the trip.

Then the bears came back.

They cross under US 331 now, through three wildlife underpasses finished in 2012, funneled in by a mile and a half of fence on both sides of the four-lane highway. The man who did not know Florida had black bears built them a way under the road. They den on land named after them.

Nokuse Preserve is 56,258 acres today, endowed and permanently protected, the largest private conservation project east of the Mississippi River. More than 3,800 gopher tortoises pulled off Florida development sites have been released there since 2006. In 2025 the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center took in 5,500 students from 56 schools, and it charged none of them a dollar.

A longleaf pine can live 400 years. The seedlings put in the ground in 2004 are barely out of childhood, and the forest he was actually aiming at will not stand until sometime around the year 2300. He knew that when he wrote the checks.

M.C. Davis, a poor kid from a dirt road, spent everything he ever won on a forest he would never walk through. Nobody alive will get to thank him. The people it was built for have not been born yet.

That was the whole point.

Just common sense comments from Mike Rowe. https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cvm3Xx88q/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Not the way I planned on spending my afternoon, but 7,600 comments should not be ignored! Bots, trolls and personal attacks notwithstanding, the critics of yesterday’s post were dominated by a large and vocal contingent who rushed to remind me that there’s “a difference between socialism and communism,” an obvious indication that they didn’t actually read the post.

Shelley Armour writes… “Mike! You know there is a difference between democratic socialism and communism, right?”

Hi, Shelley. Yes, I know there’s a difference, and I understand what the difference is. The larger point, and the fundamental flaw with your comment, is that you seem to believe the candidates within the Democratic Socialist Party are both “democratic and socialist" simply because that’s the name of their club. Well, maybe some of them are. I really couldn’t say. What I can tell you for sure is that more than a few have called for the complete dismantling of capitalism, free markets, representative government, property rights, borders, police, prisons, and the Constitution in general. My post referred to them, as well as a number of elected Democrats who have agreed to campaign on their behalf – including Gavin Newsom, who said, "The Democratic Party must accept the DSA in order to take back the Congress.” His words, not mine.

Tracey Steele writes…“Wow! I cannot believe Mike Rowe said this. He has a huge reach, and he is actually spouting the word “communism” like it’s the 1950s! Wow Wow Wow!”

Wow indeed, Tracey, and thanks for noticing the size of my reach! (Contrary to popular belief, size does matter!) To say it again, I am not the one “spouting” communism or conflating socialists and communists. The word is being “spouted” by members of the DSA who are using it to describe themselves. I am not accusing them; I am quoting them.

John Engles… Hey Rowe, what’s the difference between the Communists who want to run the country and the N**i/fascist who currently is?

Several differences, John, but the only one relevant to this conversation is the fact that the communists currently running for office have clearly identified themselves as such. They do not dispute or reject the label. They embrace it. It is who they are, who they claim to be, and who they want to be. The president, on the other hand, has never claimed to be a N**i or a fascist. That doesn’t mean he isn't, but it is worth noting he has rejected the accusation outright. Obviously, you are entitled to that opinion and the right to share it publicly, thanks to our Constitution. Unlike in a fascist, N**i, or communist regime. (Also worth noting, N**is and fascists are not the same thing.)

Chris Tomaloff writes… “Kinda like how the political right didn’t shout down the extreme rhetoric coming from their candidates?”

No, Chris, not like that at all. In the video I shared, we saw examples of prominent Democrats saying things like, “We need to elect more communists!” (Cea Weaver, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office.) Mamdani himself literally tweeted, “From
each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

But what exactly is the corollary from the right? Are prominent Republicans tweeting, “We need to elect more N**is! We need to elect more fascists! Eat the poor!” I don’t think so. John Engles may think Trump is fascist and a N**i, but Trump disagrees, and so do a majority of voters. Communists, on the other hand, say it loud and say it proud. I’m inclined to take them at their word.

Beto Ojeda… “Mike has always leaned to the Trumpian view of things but never states it, so as not to alienate anyone, but we know how to read between the lines. This “communist” talk is McCarthyism 2.0.”

I wasn’t around in the 1950s, Beto, but from what I’ve read, it was indeed a very difficult time to be a communist in this country. Lots of private citizens were dragged before Congress, made to take “loyalty oaths," and blacklisted in their places of work. I can’t justify it or condone it, but I can explain it. We had just fought a hot war against fascism and N**ism and just begun a Cold War against a communist regime. The existence of an organized Communist Party in this country at such a time strained the limits of tolerance. But do you really think we’re less tolerant today than we were seventy-five years ago? Do you really believe my comments about communists who claim to be communists are synonymous with another Red Scare? If you haven’t noticed, Chris, no one in the DSA, including the communists, is being dragged before Congress and made to swear a loyalty oath to the Constitution. Today, a communist in America can run for office…with the endorsement of the governor of California! And the tacit approval of a major political party! Seems to me we’re about as far from McCarthyism as we can get.

As for my desire not to alienate anyone, I suppose I am guilty of that. I run a foundation that is open to people of all political beliefs, and we’ve assisted lots of Americans who lean to the left. I also know for a fact that many Democrats have supported mikeroweWORKS historically, and I have no desire to run them off. But do you really have to “read between the lines” to understand where I’m coming from?

True, I’ve never endorsed a candidate or publicly encouraged people to vote. But I’ve been very transparent about the fact that I’m a registered Independent who favors policies and programs that often align with conservative principles. Obviously, I would not characterize those conservative principles as “Trumpian,” because a) they were around long before him, b) Trump is not a conservative, and c) I do not agree with or support everything the President says and does. So, is it possible, Beto, that your accusation is rooted in the fact that I have never publicly denounced the president to your satisfaction? Is it possible you think I'm a Trumper, simply because I've never called him a fascist, or a N**i, or a liar, or a conman, or a traitor, or whatever else you believe him to be?

Gretchen Seipp… Mike, the fact that you still act as though you’re not political after all this time is a bit ridiculous. I still support your work and foundation because I believe in it, but the folksy act has worn thin.

Aw, shucks, Gretchen. Folksy? Lil' ole me?
Honestly, how am I acting as if I am “not political?” This entire conversation is the very definition of “political.”

Christopher Pugh… I would have voted for Mike Rowe and Freddie a few years ago before he went full-on MAGA, and I’m all in favor of his project, but it’s pretty clear the political direction that he’s moved in and the money trail that has influenced it.

It’s Freddy, not Freddie. (I don’t much care, but he’s a terrier and particular about such things.) As for the “full-on MAGA” moniker, is there something I did specifically to earn that designation? Is there some kind of general definition you can share? Or, are you coming from the same place as Beto? Is calling me “Full-On MAGA" your way of saying that I’ve failed to condemn Trump to your satisfaction?

For the record, MRW is supported by liberals and conservatives alike. I have no idea what “money trail” you are referring to. Also, regarding my personal politics, think about the implications of what I wrote. I said that the Democrats have been given a gift – an opportunity to appear reasonable by doing something that 80% of the country would support. All they have to do is distance themselves from candidates who have called for the complete dismantlement of our Constitution. All they have to do is say, “Hold on, comrade. Our tent is not that big. We respect your right to hate America, but we don’t want you in our party, and we will not support your candidacy.”

If they say that, I think a lot of Independents would see them as they see John Fetterman, who has, in the eyes of many voters, become the most “rational” Democrat currently in office. If they don’t – if they actually welcome communist candidates into their party – then I’m afraid the Democrats, by default, will offer the American people a very simple choice in November – a party that disavows communism vs. a party that doesn’t. I think such a choice would be very positive for Republicans because I don’t think most Americans want to align themselves with a Democratic Party that welcomes communists. The question for you, Chris, is why would a “Full-On MAGA” like me encourage Democrats to act in a way that would disadvantage the Republican Party? And the answer is simple – it’s because I support the existence of a Democratic Party that believes America is still a fundamentally good place.

I think there’s a lot of room for improvement in our country, and I believe the best way to realize those improvements is for Democrats and Republicans to have continuous, robust and public debate about all the issues. But if one of those parties is affirmatively determined to transform our democratic republic into a communist state, then we’re no longer debating the various ways to make our country better; we’re debating the merits of destroying it. And really, what’s the point of tolerating that?

America is already a big tent, filled with hundreds of millions of people with wildly differing views and lots of political parties that represent those views. We’ve got the Green Party, the American Freedom Party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Constitution Party, and of course, the Communist Party USA, as well as the Democratic Socialist Party. America’s tent is so big, we can even tolerate fringe parties like the K*K, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and so forth. Why then, does Gavin Newsom want to make room in the Democratic tent for socialists and communists? There’s only one reason, and he’s already spelled it out for us – he believes the Democrats need them to win back the Congress. I think it’s a bad bet for the Democrats and for America. And if a prominent Republican reached out to the K*K with the same “big tent” offer, you’d better believe my vote would be in play.

Michael Tillman… When are you going to throw your hat into the ring, Mr. Rowe?

Ha! When it no longer fits my head!

For those who enjoy attending the great, free Rushville concerts, heads up. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19UjZbyTaf/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Well, “thunder struck.” Due to the incoming weather, tomorrow’s Thunderstruck concert at Riverside Park has been postponed.

The good news is that we already have a new date! Thunderstruck will take the stage at Riverside Park on Friday, August 14, at 7:00 p.m.

This will create our first Friday-and-Saturday concert weekend at Riverside Park. Thunderstruck will perform Friday night, followed by The Springsteen Experience on Saturday night. We are already exploring ways to make this a busy and exciting weekend in Rushville, so stay tuned for more details!

The band’s travel, professional sound setup, vendors, and other preparations involve significant costs, so postponing early was the most responsible decision for everyone involved.

Help us spread the word so everyone can update their plans and join us for two awesome nights of music at Riverside Park!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HJjjCM3sD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I don’t care who gets upset by this: President Trump, thank you for something bigger than politics.

Thank you for waking up every day at 80 years old and carrying pressure most people could never handle.

Thank you for the missed meals, lost family time, sleepless nights, constant travel, nonstop attacks, and the weight of leading a nation that always demands more.

Thank you for standing back up every single time people tried to tear you down. Thank you for enduring criticism, lies, betrayal, and pressure that would have destroyed most people.

Thank you for giving up comfort, privacy, peace, and the life you already had to sit in one of the toughest positions in the world and fight for this country.

You didn’t need to do any of this. You already had the wealth, success, properties, lifestyle, and freedom.

You could have walked away. Instead, you chose sacrifice. You chose responsibility. You chose America.

Thank you for everything you carried that many people never truly saw. Thank you for continuing to put this country before yourself.

We see you. We appreciate you. And we thank you.

God bless you. God protect you. And may God continue giving you the strength to carry what most people never could.

Entertainment and exercise rolled into one. That’s pickleball. Come join the fun in Brookville.