Dear Mike,

We love Carolina Traveler. Not sure what it is specifically. I find myself laughing and crying simultaneously, even reading your bio online. Maybe it’s that rare thing called wit… or sarcasm. Not sure if it’s either, or both. Anyway, I digress. My husband Mark has been noticing something on the news that's disconcerting… ads for this 6NEWS Road Trip thing. He feels as though they are encroaching on your territory. "If it ain't broke, for heavens sake don't go fixin’ it!" He has specifically mentioned that you don't look like you're enjoying yourself very much. But our main concern is that they might be mucking up a good thing... Carolina Traveler. (I'm from Chicago; I would have never imagined fighting for a show called Carolina anything.) Whether you or they realize it or not, you could syndicate this thing and take it anywhere. It's your natural rapport with people that makes it work.

Joni S

Joni,

Think of me as a plumber who works for a large plumbing company. (And I would like to add right here that I do not show crack when I’m crawling around under your sink.) Anyway, my 12 bosses tell me to go to Mooresville and fix some pipes and I go. If the pipes are in Monroe, I go there. Sometimes my 12 bosses take on a lot of work and it all has to get done in one month and though I think they are partly insane, I like my 12 bosses and I want our company to grow so I go to 23 towns in 23 days and work on pipes… sort of a plumbing “Road Trip.” On some days I’m tired and can't hide it. If you’ve seen my plumbing you know I can’t act, what you see is what you get. So your husband is right, it ain’t all fun. But I like my company and my co-plumbers and for now, this is what I do. By the by, I have an all new plumbing show Thanksgiving night at 8. It’s some of my best plumbing ever. Be sure to watch.

Now about you crying and laughing at the same time…

Mike

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Mike,

Your stories and perfect presentation are terrific. Thanks for showing everyone the Carolinas and how to have fun!

The Jackson Family

Dear Jacksons,

Thanks for the kind thoughts.

Now… I have a few questions: Did Janet really have a baby? Why doesn’t Jermaine make another CD? Is Michael really going broke?

Tell Tito and Marlon hi for me,

Mike

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Hi, Mike!

I am new to Charlotte (also a TV newsperson whose first love is newspaper) and saw your chainsaw artist piece… good stuff. So that sent me to the website to find out more. I worked in Ohio once. As a native Texan who actually grew up with the SEC when I got to Ohio I offended 99% of my co-workers when I said "what the hell is a buckeye?" I got LOTS of horrified looks. That was my introduction to the Big 10!

Leslie T.

Dear Leslie,

Buckeye fans are a strange breed. I can say that because I am one. For us, Ohio State football rules… even if we went to other colleges like Kent State, Hiram, Miami (of Ohio), Wittenberg, Bowling Green, Case Western, Cincinnati, John Carroll, Wright State, Baldwin-Wallace, Otterbein, Xavier, Ohio University (where I went to school… it’s different than Ohio State, doesn’t matter) all Ohioans cheer for the Buckeyes. The “Shoe” (shaped like a horseshoe) or Ohio State’s stadium sitting along the Ollentangy River holds about 105,000 people. It’s packed every game and there are another 100,000 fans outside partying. When Michigan comes to town there will be 200,000 outside the stadium. Buckeye fans have nothing else to do on Saturdays. Seriously. You can’t cut your grass in Ohio in November, and that’s our only other activity. Well, sometimes we join bowling leagues or take Reader’s Digest magazines and bend down the corners of every page, fan the pages out until they create a little Christmas Tree and spray paint them green or gold. Anyway in the fall we drive to Columbus and drink cheap beer and eat brats. We also despise all things Michigan… but here’s the twist that will tell you more about Ohioans than just about anything else… when Michigan plays in bowl games against non Big 10 schools, we root for them. We only pretend to be haters. At heart, we’re good sports.

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Dear Mike,

Hi - this is my
first time logging on to the WCNC website. I watch your "Carolina
Traveler" show and have always enjoyed it and you ... your sense of
humor and the way you deal with people is delightful. Well I just read
your journal on the day you wrote about your son and his graduation.
First I think it is awesome that you were so honest. But mostly I guess
I was just glad to know that you know what is important. Your story just
touched my heart and I wanted to tell you that. Be careful out there in
all your travels.

See you on TV,

Judy B

Judy,

I got a lot of e-mails on that one. I suppose when you admit your
failures folks identify with that. Or maybe they feel compassion for
others who realize their mistakes (suddenly this feels like too intimate
a conversation which makes me uncomfortable)… so here’s the thing to
remember, I’m an honest plumber! Seriously, vote for me in November…
(are people laughing yet?)… somebody get me a baby to kiss… (long
awkward pause) …um… gotta run, thanks.

Mike

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Mike,

My husband’s pants
also made calls on his cell. One time, we were out to dinner and his
pants decided to call my sister and her 2 teenage daughters. As you may
know, a teenager MUST have the phone lines open at all times. They heard
us talking and figured out what had happened. The 3 of them stood
together and screamed our names into the phone and hoped we would hear
it. My husband and I kept looking around thinking “What is that sound?”
My purse also made calls. After a trip to the grocery store, I came home
and found 3 messages on my answering machine. They were of me singing to
the radio and talking to the cashier.

We now have flip
phones…

Lynda A.

Lynda,

Have your husband’s pants call my pants. We’ll do lunch.

Mike

Okay, I got some pipes to fix in Mooresville so I’m off.

You should watch my show Thanksgiving night. And tell all your friends,
and have them, well… you know.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the people,

Mike Redding

Mike