Meet Matt. Matt is a 37 year-old married male who lives in Davenport, Iowa. Matt loves football, his wife Angie, his daughter Molly, and fixing cars in his garage. His biggest concern is being able to send his daughter to college, and being able to support his family now that there is another daughter on the way. Matt doesn’t have a lot of knowledge of finance, but he has been saving in a college fund little by little from his paycheck as a floor manager in a local food packing plant. Matt hopes to one day become the regional manager for the three warehouses in his company’s Iowa region, but he sees this as 10 years down the road at least, and of course only if the company can stay in business that long. He wants his daughter to go to the Univesity of Northern Iowa like he did, or maybe even the University of Iowa. He dreams of her becoming a doctor or a lawyer.
Matt lives in a two-flat with his wife Angie. They have two cars: one Thunderbird, which Matt spends time fixing up on the weekends, and one Ford Escape, which Angie uses to take Molly to dance class, run errands, and drive to her job as an office manager at a local real estate office. Matt grew up in Davenport and has a few of the same friends that he had in high school. Most of his friends stayed around Davenport for their whole lives, though some moved regionally to go to college, for a couple of years at least. His friends are loyal and hard-working family men who enjoy good football, a Budweiser, and barbequing in the summer. They are generally handy and enjoy fixing things and being self-sufficient. They are not particularly interested in fads, though some of them do have the latest smartphone. They all have fantastic TVs and full cable packages with the extra sports channels. Primarily, Matt’s money is spent on food for the family, the mortgage, car payments, dance classes and other expenses for Molly, and the occasional splurge on power tools, or details for the car.
Matt is about 5’9, and maybe 15 lbs. overweight. He is not particularly worried about his appearance; he still has some of his boyish good-looks, and even though his belly is a bit larger than he’d like it to be, and his hairline an inch or two further back than he wishes, he still knows he is fairly attractive. He still thinks his wife is sexy and she does a fair amount to maintain her appearance. She jogs with friends in the neighborhood, and belongs to a local gym called “Fitness Gal.” Matt is generally a respectful person and has good manners. He is laid back and non-confrontational in public settings, and doesn’t get too frustrated by waiting in traffic or getting caught in line at the grocery store. He thinks that it feels good to be kind to others and so he tries to do so whenever he can, and he appreciates it when others return the favor. Then again, he has been known to get a little rowdy and even rude when he has had a few too many at Jack’s, his favorite bar, and his team-he roots for the Bears- is losing.
Matt and his friends are somewhat conservative, though he generally considers himself a moderate. Matt and his friends sometimes talk about immigration laws and other political issues, but are really only concerned with the ones that they see as directly impacting their lives or jobs. His friends discuss local political issues as well, but usually just to reaffirm each other’s beliefs and sometimes to make fun of the insincerity or appearance of some of the usual suspects on the local political scene. Matt’s boss is a much older man with whom he is very friendly. Neither are
exceptionally motivated, but both work hard and usually meet their quotas. Matt’s boss gives him positive affirmations for his good work and occasionally asks about Angie and Molly. His boss is rarely critical, but Matt believes that that is due to his lack of interest in his job. Matt watches the local news and programs like “Deal or No Deal,” “Lost,” and “Dexter.” His wife watches “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Bachelor” and “Biggest Loser.” Matt listens to talk radio on the way to work, which is how he gets most of his national and world news. This is usually on AM and includes reports about the traffic and weather. He plays in a local bowling league with some guys a bit older than him who have lived in Davenport for even longer than he has, and he often finds himself listening to their political conversations. They tend to be a little more conservative than he is, but he often finds himself sympathizing with their point of view.
Matt feels somewhat trapped in his life, but doesn’t see much of a way out, and generally feel fairly happy, so doesn’t feel a strong impetus to make big changes. He wishes his job paid more (he makes $47,000/year) and that he could have a nicer house and better cars. He attends a Lutheran church a few times a year, and feels slightly guilty about not being more committed, and not raising his daughter to be a person of faith. He wishes he had a job that offered him more opportunities, and he feels somewhat uninspired by the work, but at the same time, he feels lucky to have a steady job, as many of his friends have been unable to hold onto theirs through the recession. He gets jealous of his friends and neighbors when they purchase something more exciting or flashy than what he owns. He gets slightly annoyed when one of his friends get promoted- even if the job in a completely different line of work. He wishes he got a little more recognition for everything he does for his family and for all of his hard work at the plant. He’d love to sit behind a desk someday instead of having to spend his days walking the floor and tiring his feet. But as long as he’s in a limited job market, with limited skills, he’ll take what he can get.
Matt lives in a two-flat with his wife Angie. They have two cars: one Thunderbird, which Matt spends time fixing up on the weekends, and one Ford Escape, which Angie uses to take Molly to dance class, run errands, and drive to her job as an office manager at a local real estate office. Matt grew up in Davenport and has a few of the same friends that he had in high school. Most of his friends stayed around Davenport for their whole lives, though some moved regionally to go to college, for a couple of years at least. His friends are loyal and hard-working family men who enjoy good football, a Budweiser, and barbequing in the summer. They are generally handy and enjoy fixing things and being self-sufficient. They are not particularly interested in fads, though some of them do have the latest smartphone. They all have fantastic TVs and full cable packages with the extra sports channels. Primarily, Matt’s money is spent on food for the family, the mortgage, car payments, dance classes and other expenses for Molly, and the occasional splurge on power tools, or details for the car.
Matt is about 5’9, and maybe 15 lbs. overweight. He is not particularly worried about his appearance; he still has some of his boyish good-looks, and even though his belly is a bit larger than he’d like it to be, and his hairline an inch or two further back than he wishes, he still knows he is fairly attractive. He still thinks his wife is sexy and she does a fair amount to maintain her appearance. She jogs with friends in the neighborhood, and belongs to a local gym called “Fitness Gal.” Matt is generally a respectful person and has good manners. He is laid back and non-confrontational in public settings, and doesn’t get too frustrated by waiting in traffic or getting caught in line at the grocery store. He thinks that it feels good to be kind to others and so he tries to do so whenever he can, and he appreciates it when others return the favor. Then again, he has been known to get a little rowdy and even rude when he has had a few too many at Jack’s, his favorite bar, and his team-he roots for the Bears- is losing.
Matt and his friends are somewhat conservative, though he generally considers himself a moderate. Matt and his friends sometimes talk about immigration laws and other political issues, but are really only concerned with the ones that they see as directly impacting their lives or jobs. His friends discuss local political issues as well, but usually just to reaffirm each other’s beliefs and sometimes to make fun of the insincerity or appearance of some of the usual suspects on the local political scene. Matt’s boss is a much older man with whom he is very friendly. Neither are
exceptionally motivated, but both work hard and usually meet their quotas. Matt’s boss gives him positive affirmations for his good work and occasionally asks about Angie and Molly. His boss is rarely critical, but Matt believes that that is due to his lack of interest in his job. Matt watches the local news and programs like “Deal or No Deal,” “Lost,” and “Dexter.” His wife watches “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Bachelor” and “Biggest Loser.” Matt listens to talk radio on the way to work, which is how he gets most of his national and world news. This is usually on AM and includes reports about the traffic and weather. He plays in a local bowling league with some guys a bit older than him who have lived in Davenport for even longer than he has, and he often finds himself listening to their political conversations. They tend to be a little more conservative than he is, but he often finds himself sympathizing with their point of view.
Matt feels somewhat trapped in his life, but doesn’t see much of a way out, and generally feel fairly happy, so doesn’t feel a strong impetus to make big changes. He wishes his job paid more (he makes $47,000/year) and that he could have a nicer house and better cars. He attends a Lutheran church a few times a year, and feels slightly guilty about not being more committed, and not raising his daughter to be a person of faith. He wishes he had a job that offered him more opportunities, and he feels somewhat uninspired by the work, but at the same time, he feels lucky to have a steady job, as many of his friends have been unable to hold onto theirs through the recession. He gets jealous of his friends and neighbors when they purchase something more exciting or flashy than what he owns. He gets slightly annoyed when one of his friends get promoted- even if the job in a completely different line of work. He wishes he got a little more recognition for everything he does for his family and for all of his hard work at the plant. He’d love to sit behind a desk someday instead of having to spend his days walking the floor and tiring his feet. But as long as he’s in a limited job market, with limited skills, he’ll take what he can get.
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ReplyDeleteOh no! Prof. Walls I accidentally removed your last post. Here's what you said just so you have a reference:
ReplyDeleteSally - Great job on this. This was really interesting to read and I feel like I have a very good sense of Matt and even his friends. Thank you for the effort.