american lives and wounded another 32,000. behind every one of those numbers is a story. and some of those stories are above and beyond. like the one our tracy smith will tell. >> reporter: army captain scotty smiley was in iraq less than six months when he looked straight into the eyes of a car bomber. so the last thing you remember is what? >> the last thing i remember is seeing that man's face. and his hands in the air. it's been a life-changing experience. >> reporter: we'll tell you what happened next and more remarkably what captain scotty smiley has done since that awful day. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: in the united states we celebrate tomorrow as labor day. the labor story richard roth has for us this morning comes from germany where a bmw plant has a somewhat different approach to its aging work force. >> reporter: auto maker bmw, it amounts to a race against time. it's not just the boomer and the beamer who is getting older. the people who build these cars are aging too. but the first step toward maintaining productivity, could it be a new pair of shoes? >> the response i've been receiving is, wow, it's so simple but it seems to work. >> reporter: later this sunday morning, a closer look at how bmw's growing older efficiently. >> osgood: the end of summer vacation marks the beginning of the new season for theaters, museums, concert halls, movies and on tv. it's television where we begin our annual fall preview with jeff green field we'll get real about reality tv. >> playboy, here we could come. >> reporter: from california's orange county to the new jersey shore. real people are taking over the tube. for better? >> what's the real deal here. >> reporter: or maybe for worse. >> the producers and casting directors have figured out that we have reptile brains. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, the reality behind reality tv. >> osgood: reality is that good things rarely last forever. but our bill geist has found an exception to the rule. this morning he'll be serving up a hefty portion of pie in the sky. >> reporter: friends, do you toss and turn at night worrying about where your next pie is coming from? enroll in bud's new pie for life program and you'll never worry about pie again. from a small cafe in round top, texas, comes a cure for pie anxiety. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: martha teichner introduces us to an artist documenting a vanishing way of life. mark fill ipses concludes with a rock'n'roll camp for grown- ups. mow rock owe second guesses the white house makeover of the oval office and more. first the headlines for this sunday morning the fifth day of september 2010. the end of u.s. combat operations in iraq hasn't ended the violence there. this morning, a car bomb went off in baghdad outside the iraqi military headquarters. eight people were killed. 29 others wounded. hurricane earl is now just a memory. not that there's much to remember. once a mammoth category 4 storm, it finally made land fall in nova scotia yesterday as a tropical storm. there were power outages but for most earl was a non- event. extra police and troops are patrolling christ church new zealand where more than 500 buildings were badly damaged by saturday's big earthquake. the prime minister says it's a miracle no one was killed. it took 30 hours to do it but workers last night retrieved the infamous blow-out preventer, the 300-ton piece of equipment that failed to prevent the blow-out of the b.p. deep water well in the gulf of mexico earlier this summer. craigslist has closed the adult services section of its website. a censored logo has replaced it. two weeks ago the attorneys general of 17 states demanded craigslist shut down the section to block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution and child trafficking. in sports top seed, during the windy day of tennis at the u.s. open. the u.s. open play resumes later this morning on cbs sports. now for today's forecast. warm across the south. but it's already feeling downright cool in the northeast. it will stay cool in the east for labor day. hot and humid in the south. a chance of rain in the northwest. and dry and sunny over the southwest. coming up, putting workers in the driver's seat. coming up, putting workers in the driver's seat. and later, the new seasoso,,,, as a career prosecutor i made decisions on facts not politics. in washington, i'm trying to do the same. that's why i voted to crackdown on wall street and protect the bay. and why i voted against the $3 trillion budget, the big bank bailout, and against the health care bill. you see for me it's not about democrats or republicans it's about common sense and doing what's best for our families. maybe that's why i'm ranked one of the most independent members of congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. >> osgood: as we mentioned earlier some 32,000 american were injured in the iraq war. among them there are no doubt many tales of courage. army captain scott smiley's is certainly one of those. tracy smith has our sunday morning cover story. >> reporter: at west point the motto is duty, honor, country. few cadets have ever been more serious than scott smiley. known as scotty to friends and family, he was a straight arrow, a leader among leaders with a promising future. and a high school sweetheart he adored. tiffany elliott. you talk about beauty on the inside but you also describe her as just as pretty as any magazine cover. >> she's hot. >> reporter: scotty smiley graduated in 2003, just after the start of the iraq war. and by december, he and tiffany were married. could you have pictured standing there saying your vows how your life would unfold. >> not at all. i mean, we thought we kind of had it figured out. it was almost like everything was so perfect. >> reporter: by the spring of 2005 scotty smiley was a platoon leader in northern iraq, an area where car bombs were becoming more common and lethal. for smiley, the duty was tough. but the mission in his mind was sound. >> every day that i woke up, despite me not getting any sleep the last 24 or 48 hours meant that i was doing something for the country, meant i was making a positive difference. not only in another country's life but my own country's life. i was protecting my wife back home. my family, my brothers and sisters. that the impact that i was continually making was making a difference. >> reporter: and so one april day smiley didn't flinch when his platoon rolled up on a nervous looking man driving a suspicious looking car. >> i yelled at him to get out of his car. he looked at me. he faced me, raised his hands up like nothing is wrong but he still wasn't moving and doing anything. then he kind of pulled away from me. >> reporter: so the last thing you remember is what? >> the last thing i remember is seeing that man's face. and his hands in the air. in all honesty that's the last thing i remember seeing in my life. >> reporter: at that moment the driver set off a massive bomb, sending shards of metal through scotty smiley's eyes and into his brain. close to death, smiley was quickly stabilized and put aboard a life-saving air lift. when he woke up two weeks later at walter reed in washington d.c., he was surrounded by family he could hear but not see. the doctors said he was partially paralyzed and totally blind. >> in my mind, my life was over. i had in my opinion no reason to live. i couldn't see. i couldn't walk. and unfortunately at that time i didn't trust in god. i didn't trust in my wife. i know unfortunately the beautiful woman that i married i was not nice to. >> reporter: smiley says his spirit was crushed. when he was awarded the purple heart, he cried through the entire ceremony. >> one of the second worst days of my life was when the ophthalmologist who had worked eight hours on my right eye the day before came in and told me that i would never be able to see again. it was hard. it was definitely difficult. >> reporter: it seemed that there was no place for a blind soldier to go but out of the army. but somewhere deep inside scotty smiley, the despair gave way to determination. >> i cried for about an hour. then i said, you know what? i'm getting out of bed. i'm not going to be an individual who just squanders my life away because of what has been given to me. i'm going to make a step forward. >> reporter: instead of accepting medical retirement, smiley decided he'd fight to stay in uniform. he sought the advice of a family friend, lieutenant general robert van ant we were now the head of the army corps of engineers. >> our hope and prayer all along was that scotty could continue to serve and be productive. he had no intention of wanting to get out. from day one that he was able to speak to us, i want to stay in. there is a place for me. so we were holding fast to that. >> reporter: after grueling physical therapy to get back in fighting trim, smiley began an all-out campaign to convince his superiors that he could still contribute, blind or not. he went back to west point and taughtlyership classes to cadets and then got himself into duke university's pred tij us business school where he graduated with an mba. earlier this year scotty smiley took command of west point's warrior transition unit as the army's first blind active duty officer. now it's smiley's job to lead by example and help other wounded or ailing war veterans fight their own battles to stay on active duty or transition to civilian life. >> he's the old scotty. he just... he doesn't see through his eyes but he sees in a lot of different ways. >> reporter: smiley's readiness to accept a challenge has become a habit. last month he took part in the west point triathlon. most of it latched to his buddy captain jeff. in the years since his injury he summited mount rainier, surfed solo in hawaii, skied veil, and jumped out of a plane. his blindness hasn't stop him or even slowed him down. here's the thing. the reason why i think people look at you, you know, you could say that god spared him once. why push it? >> right. but then like it's still life. you only have one life to live. so i'm going to let him live it. i know he wouldn't be a very fun man to live with if i kept him from those things. >> reporter: a book out later this month from simon and schuster, a cbs company, scotty smiley says he's found ways to compensate in other areas of his life as well, like in the delivery room when his first child was born. >> we didn't know what we were having. so no one in the room knew. the doctors took scotty's hand and rubbed it in between grady's legs so scotty was the first person to know who we had. >> reporter: scotty, you got to say it's a boy. >> it's a boy. >> reporter: there are two boys now. three-year-old grady and one-year-old graham. you do have a puttful family. >> thank you. >> reporter: i know when people tell you that it's a compliment and it also stings. >> it does. it hurts me very badly to know that i'll never be able to see my wife again. it crushes me to know that i'll never be able to see my children. it's hard. when my sons were born, it was very difficult to know that i'm never going to be able to see you. it doesn't take anything away from my responsibilities to care for them. but it still hurts. it's been a life-changing experience. >> reporter: scotty smiley says he's spent a lot of times wondering why me? but these days he'd rather focus on the road ahead. >> it's great to be back here and be a part of the staff. >> reporter: you said that when you initially woke up that you saw yourself as a failure. you don't see yourself as a failure now? >> there's always room to improve though. i want to continue to improve in my life. >> reporter: he's been called a hero more than once. but scotty smiley sees himself as any other army officer, someone who fought through adversity with his faith intact. and with his goals clearly in sight. >> go dad, dad, dad! >> osgood: just ahead, jesse james, the man and the myth. my family... while i was building my life... my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why my doctor prescribed crestor. she said plaque buildup in arteries... is a real reason to lower cholesterol... and that, along with diet, crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol... it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. crestor isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building your life, plaque may have been building in your arteries. ask your doctor if crestor can help and go to crestor.com to get a free trial offer. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪ jesse jamess killed many a man ♪ ♪ he robbed the glendale train ♪ >> osgood: now a page from our sunday morning almanac. september 5, 1847, the day the infamous jesse james was born in missouri, the son of a baptist minister. as a teenager, the young jesse james sided with the confederacy during the civil war. in one attack it is said that he killed eight people in a single day. after the war, as we learned in saturday matinees, james found a new calling: armed robbery. his first bank heist netted james and his war buddyed $60,000, big money back in those days. robbery after robbery would follow. while james and his gang were shooting their way around the west, they became the talk of the east. in fact, a number of americans came to see him as the robin hood of his time. the legend outlived the man, providing ammunition for some 40 movies starring some of hollywood's finest from tyrone power to brad pitt. as many of those films documented it wasn't long before jesse james was wanted, dead or alive. the gang met its match during an 1876 robbery in northfield, minnesota. townspeople fought back. only jesse and his brother frank escaped. james went into hiding with his family in st. joseph, missouri. his notoriety grew and so did the price on his head. when jesse james decided to recruit a new gang, that reward money proved too tempting for robert ford who, while posing as a would-be acome police-- shot james dead after he turned to adjust a picture on the wall. his attacker grew to be infamous in his own right: hero to some; villain to others. over the years, the legend of jesse james has taken on a life of its own. so much so that in 1995 his body was ex-you'lled just to confirm that it really was jesse james. it was. jesse james made the headlines yet again. coming up.... >> getting a likeness is is the easy part. making a good painting that speaks forever, you hope, is a difficult part. >> osgood: a labor of love. [ man ] ♪ today the world looks mighty fine ♪ [ women ] ♪ pop-tarts happy sunshine time! ♪ [ man ] ♪ grab a pop-tart and you might just start ♪ ♪ to sing songs like a meadow lark ♪ ♪ stretch and yawn ♪ blow a kiss to mom ♪ cause pop-tarts mornings are the bomb ♪ ♪ so, rise and shiiiiine i love running my tongue across my teeth and feeling all the stuff i missed. [ male announcer ] no one really wants plaque left on their teeth, done. [ male announcer ] but ordinary manual brushes can leave up to 50% of plaque behind. oral-b power brushes are inspired by the tools professionals use, to clean away plaque in ways a manual brush can't. for that dentist-smooth, clean feeling every day. fight plaque with real power. oral-b power. get 50% off oral-b power brushes for a limited time. visit oralb.com for details. since our beginning, we've been there for clients through good times and bad, when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead. this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. we are, the rock you can rely on. announcer: this is a baby. a baby generating data in a neo-natal ward. every heart beat, every breath, every anomaly... from over a thousand pieces of unique information per second. helping doctors find new ways to detect life threatening infections up to 24 hours sooner. on a smarter planet... analyze the data and you can predict what will happen faster. so you can do what they're doing in toronto... and build a smarter hospital. let's build a smarter planet. >> osgood: she's the artist of record of a changing world. a world mary whyte has captured in a style all her own as martha teichner will now show us. >> can we get the a-frame back again? let's put it right ba here. >> reporter: mary whyte arrived early enough to take gary douglas's picture outside by his sign. before the rain really started coming down. douglas owns the highway 50 drive-in. >> all right. we're going to cut it out. it's time to get started with the feature for the night. >> reporter: the only movie theater left for miles around lewis burg, tennessee. an honest to goodness last picture show not much different from the way it was in the 1940s. >> that's good. >> reporter: which is why mary whyte is here. .just tell me how many years have you been married? >>.43. >> isn't that wonderful that you can say that. >> reporter: for the last three-and-a-half years whyte has been traveling around the south painting its endangered species: holdouts like gary douglas whose way of life is disappearing. >> has anyone ever drawn you before? >> this is a first. >> this is a first. >> reporter: her subjects tend to be people nobody has ever drawn. >> if it bears a story that i think needs to be told, that all of these people are living a life that i think is unique and important. do you want to see? >> reporter: the sketches, the quick water colors just the beginning. here is the finished painting of gary douglas at the highway 50 drive-in. >> getting a likeness is the easy part. making a good painting that endures, that peeks speaks forever, you hope, is is the difficult part. >> reporter: this was the first of the pictures. it's called by a thread. mary whyte saw a newspaper article about a mill closure. one thing led to another. and another. and then another. altogether, 50 paintings with a book to come. >> this is a group of men that a band that was started in the '20s. >> reporter: white found one of the south's last funeral bands in miami. >> the oldest member that is still living was in that band in the '20s. he's, i think, close to 100 now i'm told. >> reporter: she pays her subjects a little for their time. >> they came over one by one and leaned up against a tree and played for me. >> reporter: whyte's final paintings are water color. yes, the same kind of paint you sloshed all overdrawing paper in second grade. hard to believe. >> people often are surprised when they walk in to my studio and they say, this is it? i mean this is it. it's basically a plastic tray with the colors around the edges and you add water to it. >> reporter: for a couple of months each year, mary whyte leaves her home and studio near charles town south carolina. she packs up her art supplies and her radio and moves into this old mill worker's cottage upstate in the little town of simpsonville. >> it's empty so it means all i have to think about are my paintings so all i do is paint and eat and sleep. >> reporter: every day just before noon, she goes next door to the home of doug and billy hawk, her landlords. what she finds is is a feast in the making. doug was a superviseor at the local textile mill. like so many others, shut down now. but the routine remains. >> we gather around this table today and give you thanks for the many blessings. >> at noontime on the dot everyday in a mill workers' time mrs. hoggs serves a colossal homemade warm hot dinner. >> as we say dig in. >> thee generations meet daily for meals. all work in the garden. all help to grow the produce in the garden and to raise the beef here. ... and raise the bees here. >> reporter: it was because of their bees that whyte sought them out in the first place early on in her project. doug hogg and his daughter jane don't say much as they tend the hives. they don't need to. this is mary whyte's painting. the bee keeper's daughter. >> the wearing of the white. the whiteness of the shapes. the smoke. and the fact that they smoke and they move slowly. to me it's dreamy. this painting is called spinner. >> reporter: next march the greenville county museum of art will exhibit whyte's work. many of her completed paintings are being scored there now. in the frames her husband made by hand. they were hung for us to see. >> this is elgie. he's spent his entire life crabbing and oystering. he was kind enough to take me out on his boat. that day about a third of the traps had been poached. or vandalized. so i watched this man vacillate that day between anguish, despair, and rage. >> reporter: the next time she called him, he had gone out of business. >> this painting that's right next to it was started in new orleans. i wanted to find the shoe shine man. eventually i found my way to mr. noah here who is in one of the big hotels down on canal street. he's been shining shoes since he was five years old. everyone i asked, so, why do you do this? they say because it's all i've ever known. >> reporter: near bishopville south carolina, white stopped a cotton picker who could only pose for a minute or two because he had to get back to work. just down the road at a diner she met the subjects of the paintings she called 15-minute break. >> what they do is they clean industrial ovens. they're tired. for them this is a 16-hour day. that's what i found so interesting and meaningful and attractive to do this painting is that i wanted this absolute weariness of these men. >> reporter: in the lovers, it was her berea kentucky's quilter skin that fascinated her. >> and the skin has this wonderful translose ens, a quality where you can see particularly as a person ages, the skin becomes thinner. i believe the hands are a person's resume of their life. >> reporter: in mary whyte's hands the resume of a region is brought to life. with a plastic tray, some color and water. >> osgood: next we're heading south by southwest. and later all in a day's work. ,, >> 1, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4. >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: smoky robinson is just one of the performers who made his way south by southwest not long ago. he was center stage in austin texas at an event like none other for aspiring and established musicians alike. here is anthony mason with a summer song. ♪ my eyes are so bleary ♪ i guess i'm young but i feel so weary ♪ > for a few days every year, the capital of texas becomes the capital of music. as thousands of musicians take over austin. >> just a kid from chicago illinois. >> los angeles california. >> reporter: they come from all over the country and all over the world. and turn austin into a musical mecca for south by southwest, what's become the world's most influential music festival. for four day and nights, music seems to pour out of every pour of this city. from front porches, parking lots, and more than 80 bars and clubs. south by southwest attracts the unknown, the up and coming, and established stars like jakob dylan. >> i feel something really cool here every time i've been here. >> reporter: every year nearly,000 acts compete for the industry's attention. hoping to catch a break, build some buzz, or land a record deal. along sixth street austin's main drag, tommy blank's group quiet company was offering free hugs. >> it's embarrassing at first. >> reporter: did it work? >> people love it. look, i'm talking to you right now. >> reporter: it's a road some veterans know well. >> we had no label. we were booking ourselves. i was in charge of advancing the shows. we'd get to our gates in a pink rv so we would load up a pink rv. i think we had one show case. >> reporter: sisters marty mcgwire and emily robison are two thirds of the dixie chicks. when you came to south by southwest that first time did you feel like you got noticed? >> no. >> not really. >> you have to remember we were in probably cow girl outfits. we were very kitschy. i don't know that it was.... >> reporter: with their lead singer natalie mains taking a break, mcgwire and robison were back at the festival this year performing as the courtyard hounds. ♪ cool chicago nights > is it difficult putting your receive out there again in a new form? >> proving ourselves all over again, yes, i think there's a little bit of pressure. >> reporter: motown legend smoky robinson was trying out something new too. promoting a new album on his own new label. you're in charge of what exactly? >> you name it. >> reporter: even the great soul singer has had to adapt to the decline of cd sales and the digital world. it's a new business, isn't it? >> it sure is. it's another whole new business. the record business is another animal now. >> reporter: what do you think of it? >> it's frightening. >> reporter: what frightens you? >> the fact that i think that it's almost like we're going back to the days of the minstrel where you just do music and nobody pays for it. >> reporter: a lot has changed since roland swenson co-founded south by southwest 24 years ago. at some point did you say to yourself, oh, my god, what have i done here? >> yeah, everyday, yeah. it took on its own life. i'm its servant. >> reporter: swenson a former band manager and journalist presides over the sprawling operation from a little office called director's hell in the back of austin's convention center. if there's a problem, it's his job to put out the fire. >> we don't like to use the word fire. >> reporter: because back in 1991 someone did set fire to the festival's headquarters. >> the fire department comes up and there's a smudge on his face. he looks me in the eye and says do you have any enemies? >> reporter: plenty and swenson knows it. 10,000 acts apply to be in the festival this year. fewer than 2,000 made the cut. >> the old cliche if you're going to make an omlette, you have to break some eggs. we break a lot of eggs. >> reporter: speaking of food, rachael ray is a regular at south by southwest. >> i want to thank everybody for coming out today. >> reporter: the celebrity chef and music lover fell in love with the festival and now throws a free annual barbecue. it's become one of the festival's hottest tickets. >> i wanted it to be like a really cool block party. good food. good drinks. and great music. >> reporter: how many people are you feeding? >> we're prepared to feed up to 2500. i try and cook my best food of the year for it. i really work on the recipes. this pulled pork i made, it's a citrus-braced pulled pork with pickle onions. >> reporter: foreigners have learned they have to fly the flag here if they want to be on the musical map. the british even opened an embassy in an austin bar. the band did not have an embassy to go to. >> we're from denmark. >> reporter: but this man and his band mates from copenhagen were making a return trip. i mean if you want to introduce yourself to the world you need to come here. >> i think at some point there's a lot of festivals but not as big as this. >> reporter: their appearance here last year led to a record deal. it worked out. >> it worked. >> reporter: it was worth the trip? >> yeah. >> i wanted a guitar. >> reporter: the most unlikely guest at south by southwest may have been dennis hensal. >> i'm an accountant by day. >> what are you doing here? >> reporter: we found him strolling sixth street around midnight with a texas-shaped guitar. >> you're trying to sell guitars. >> i'm trying to sell guitars. >> reporter: hensal has invested $600 to design and build this prototype that everyone seemed to want to try on. >> hopefully i'm generating some buzz or something. i don't know. i'm losing my shorts but i am having a ball. ♪ my eyes are so bleary ♪ i guess i'm young but i feel so weary ♪ > for artists, even accountants at south by southwest, this is a street of texas-sized dreams. ♪ >> wow, it's so simple but it seems to work. >> osgood: coming up an automobile plant that cares for its workers. really. car insurance? did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home? piggy: weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeee weeeeeeee. mom: max. ...maxwell! piggy: yeah? mom: you're home. piggy: oh,cool, thanks mrs. a. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. >> osgood: this is a 2011 bmw 5 series, a triumph in german engineering. as richard roth now shows us, it is built by a work force that is not only getting older but also getting better. >> reporter: in a world where the route is always scenic and the road is always open, auto maker bmw is worried it could be losing a race against time that is catching up with the 18,000 workers who build the brand's luxury cars. >> we found out our workers are getting older and older everyday. >> reporter: no surprise. >> no surprise. it's part of the demographic development of the german country as a whole or even europe as a whole. >> reporter: demographers call it the silver tsunami, a rising tide of gray hair. americans over 65 will make up more than 16% of the population within ten years. germany is aging even faster. more than a fifth of the country will be over 65 by the year 2020. older workers have more patience and skill that comes from experience, the studies say. but less flexibility, strength and vision. real liabilities on a production line that depends on precision engineering and a lot of hard work to turn out more than 1200 cars a day. >> you could force them to retire. you could fire them. you could find easier jobs for them. >> that might be the simple way to solve the problem. but we have a social contract within germany or as the bmw group where we say that's not the solution that we will look for especially since we don't have enough younger people actually to replace. so it wouldn't even work if we wanted it to. >> reporter: in what the harvard business review called an experiment de-fusing its demographic time bomb, bmw decided to look ahead. management tipping... tinkerd with one assembly line in this huge division and made it older night. they staffed it so the average age of workers would be 47, exactly what it is projected to be seven years from now. and then they asked them how to make it better. >> that's the new magnifying glass. >> very simple because older people can't read anymore as good as young people. or they have some problems with that. >> reporter: the overseer of the production line. it makes rear axle gear boxes. when workers said their feet hurt, the company made them special shoes and put in wooden floors. some got a place to sit. a hairdresser's chair modified for the assembly line. 56-year-old rudolph bohr has been working here for 35 years. he finally got a chance to stretch right on the factory floor. is that good for work? definitely, he says. when i go home, i have more energy. some tools were improved and new computer screens were introduceded with bigger type. in all the company says it made 70 small changes in the workplace to cut the chance of errors and reduced physical strain. including lost time, bmw said the project only cost about $50,000. >> all these changes are extremely obvious, but you won't come to these ideas sitting somewhere in an office and then thinking, how can i change the working place of a worker who is half a mile away? >> reporter: some other things changed here. productivity went up 7%. absenteeism fell below the plant's average. this assembly line's defek rate dropped to 0. >> all the response i've been receiving is, wow, it's so simple. but it seems to work. >> reporter: not all of auto manufacturing can be reengineered for an older work force, but bmw says enough can that it's testing and refining the experiment in other plants including in the u.s. except managers no longer call it a project to aid the elderly. it's simply bmw's fresh new plan to improve productivity. >> osgood: next, before and after.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,úgp >> osgood: the nation's most famous office, that oval one at the white house, has had a makeover. our mo rocca gives it the once over. >> when you're president everything you do makes a statement. how you dress, where you vacation, what you eat. it's impossible to stay neutral or as a publicist friend of mine put it beige. which brings us to the obama oval office re-do. the message is clear. yes, we can. whatever the intended message, the feel is is too laid back for these dire economic times. are those pullout coaches? a sectional would be more presidential. they stayed away from muss lynn for obvious reasons but the color is called fawn. maybe it was chosen for nostalgic reasons. remember when the press fawned over everything i said? fawn is just too gentle when what we need is is strength. mr. president, you're the captain of this ship. man that color wheel. steer a bolder course to bronze. or burgandy or raw umber? fawn? you might as well just go with bisque. bordering that vast expanse of oatmeal known as the carpet are quotes from lincoln, fdr and martin luther king which do say something. but they aren't really noticeable as they border a vast expanse of oatmeal. is the carpet even necessary? it's not like the downstairs are going to explain about noise. show us more of your hardwood flooring. the wallpaper has some zip and i'm glad you're keeping the traditional desk, a gift from queen victoria to rutherford b. hayes. even so your oval office is way too square not just muted but mute. (hail to the chief) i want the white house to project triumph, dare i say hope even when things aren't so triumphant so by some mysterious force things get better. come on, mr. president. didn't oprah tell you about the secret. look, all the accents are pitch perfect. i love the bowl of fruit. the last thing we need is an outbreak of skchlt curvy. but this is an oval office that tries too hard to say nothing. >> osgood: ahead, how they spent their summer vacation. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process, no matter how intricate. and that's good news, whether you're trying to sell or hoping to buy. because the only sign you really want to see is "sold." nobody sells more real estate than re/max. all this summer we've been telling you about happy campers living out fantasies large and small. in london mark phillips caught up with a rock'n'roll camp. just what the doctor ordered. >> hi, how are you? >> good, good. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: dr. jonathan has a full life. he's a vascular surgeon with a successful practice in new jersey. he builds and pilots his own planes, but something in jonathan's life was missing. ♪ you're a doctor? >> yes. >> reporter: you're a vascular surgeon. >> correct. >> reporter: father of two. >> yes. >> borger: and you're spending your time.... >> playing the drums. >> reporter: playing the drums. >> to quote todd run gren, i don't want to work. i just want to bang on the drums all day. >> reporter: bill brooks, computer consultant and family man also has a full life but something was missing. ♪ >> it's all about me now. (laughing) you know, i think that's it. i mean i'm 53 years old. i've raised my family. my kids are practically grown. it's my time. >> reporter: time to go into a world imagined from the album covers of youth, a world now available if only for a short time at rock'n'roll fantasy camp. >> 1, 2, 3. >> reporter: jonathan has been coming for three years since his wife sent him to camp on ace 40th birthday. bill won this trip in a radio station rock quiz. is this you living out your adolescence or even earlier perhaps? >> yes, yes, without a doubt. when you're a kid, you always have that dream of being a big star, getting up on the stage under the lights and this is it. >> reporter: for the middle-aged rock'n'roll fantasy "it" doesn't get much better than this. >> very good. >> put that down. >> reporter: this camp session is not only being played out in london's legendary and erode studios where the beatles and the who's who of rock royalty recorded, it's being tutored by spike edny. you may not recognize him here but turn back the hands of times a few decades and that's him on the left in his pink sleeveless t-shirt days with queen. guys seem to talk about going through some sort of change, some revelation experience or something. is that what they go through? >> you mean like buying a harley when you're 50 years old? >> reporter: something like that. >> they do go through something. when they come here for the first time they don't know what to expect. very nervous. the biggest concern is they won't be made to look stupid. >> 1, 2, 3. by day 2, they meet... they've met their band mates. they start talking about music. music is the common thing. it doesn't matter whether you're a surgeon or you're on wall street or you drive a bus. whatever it is. the people here just talk about music. that's the common denominator. it transforms everybody. it sounds like a cliche but it's really interesting to see when they've been put into their bands they start to act and think like a band. >> reporter: just like at kid camp the rock campers get thrown into groups. in this case jonathan the surgeon and bill the i.t.-guy, are linked up with vito and james from california. they're taught more than just how to play better. they get a crash course in rock stage craft. >> you've got to break out a way all these things that make them an amateur and instill in them principles that professionals have. keep it simple. five people can do something very simple. it's so gratifying. they go on stage and they show they're not playing together it's horrible and they will be underwhelmed. the audience knows when you're bluffing and you don't know it. they can tell instantly. they can also tell when people are having a great time and are on top of their game. >> the times i've walked down these stairs. the times i've been carried up. >> reporter: the camp experience wouldn't be complete without a session with the real thing. >> a legend is entering the room. >> reporter: the legend is jack bruce. again tough to spot now but memorable in his prime with ginger baker and eric clapton in cream. a flash from the past becomes a joy for the boys. >> i played with jack bruce. phenomenal. i mean, if i could be 18 in 1963, i'd give it all up to do that. >> reporter: instead of 43 in 2010. >> that's right. 18 in 1963 in london. >> reporter: for the old rockers besides a pension pop-up there seems to be some satisfaction in it too. >> i've never really thought of myself as a teacher, but if anybody can take anything, i'm more than happy that they do. >> reporter: did the idea strike you as odd at first? that others would want to take time out? >> no because i mean i'm going to brain surgeon camp next week and i get to, you know, to do some of that. >> reporter: fair is fair. and if you're going to have the complete rock'n'roll nostalgia experience, it may as well end here in liverpool in the cavern where a band called the beatles used to play. >> it seems that there was this little drummer in your head. >> right, right. life is too short. life is too short to deny yourself things like this that make life much more colorful. for me now it sort of reaffirms that, you know, i do have talent. and i can apply that talent. it's a affirmation of my own confidence, if you will. >> always the rocker, the beat goes on. >> yes. >> osgood: don't touch that dial. the reality behind reality tv. next. >> reporter: friends, do you toss and turn at night worrying about where your next pie is coming from. >> osgood: later bill geist makes it easy as pie. i had this chronic, deep ache all over -- it was a mystery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and with less pain, i can do more of what matters to me. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. >> it's the new season on sunday morning and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: that was mike the situation man from jersey shore. one of the reality shows of a summer that will soon give way to the reality shows of fall. jeff greenfield it's time to get here. >> reporter: it's a saturday night in hollywood, and the paparazzi are out in force. but who are the celebritys that have drawn them? movie stars? rock idols? sports gods? no. these are the men and women of survivor. a television program now a decade old that changed television to its core. the program that through 16 men and women on to the island of borneo competing with and against each other for a million dollar prize galvanized american viewers. its first season finale drew more than 50 million of them to watch the deciding vote cast. >> we have richard the snake who knowingly went after prey and kelly who turned into the rat that ran around like the rats do on this island. >> reporter: survivor success spawned dozens of descendents, most notably american idol. where advertisers can pay up to a million dollars for a single 30-second ad. >> very, very very proud of you. >> reporter: but producers also discovered a different audience appetite. a hunger to watch people with no discernible talent, no discernible insights but who are willing, eager to be seen and heard doing nothing. >> just shopping? >> reporter: they also found audiences eager to watch and participants eager to perform in situations we once laughingly called inappropriate. >> reallyality television. >> reporter: how real is the reality craze? by one estimate one out of every four shows in prime time falls into that category. many of them ratings bonanzas. for nbc mired in fourth place last season, its biggest hits are reality shows like america's got talent and the biggest loser where grossly overweight people compete to lose pounds and win money. one reason for their popularity is financial. an hour of reality can cost a few hundred thousand dollars compared to the one to three million for a scripted drama. but there's also a more fundamental reason. >> a lot of the appeal of these shows is is that a producers and casting directors have figured out that we have reptile brains. and that there is stuff that we can't resist because of the species we are. >> reporter: martin kaplan is a screen writer turned academic who teaches about the media at the usc annenberg school for communication. >> humiliating, lurid things that happen get our attention. we gossip over the back fence. since the television is an extension of the world that we live in, we can gossip about the people that we see there. >> reporter: in july the discovery channel drew one of its largest audiences ever to watch captain phil harris, fisherman on the deadly yet catch die, that's right, die during the show's episode. >> there you go. >> reporter: usually the fates are kinder to stars of reality shows and perhaps no reality figure has drawn more viewer attention than this one. >> you're absolutely right. >> reporter: on the apprentice back in 2004 she fascinated and appalled viewers with her ceaseless con i'ving and back stabbing. >> i love that. >> reporter: she lost that competition but since then has ascended to the one-name status of madonna or cher has appeared on some 20 reality shows. she's an author and political consultant. >> i don't come here to make friends. i said that from day one. >> a friend of mind said the fabric of reality tv is conflict. make sure you're either in the fight, breaking the fight up or starting the fight. >> reporter: and that, she says, is exactly what the producers of these shows are looking for. for programs like the apprentice, the competition is the point. but what about shows like keeping up with the kardashians or the real housewives of orange county. >> they're the most mundane behavior. it's not about writing a symphony. >> reporter: mary mcknow mayor is a tv critic for the los angeles times. >> these shows are not about dignity and quiet grace in everyday living. it's about a bunch of people who don't really have any ambition beyond going out to lunch and owning things. there's nothing really to, you know, challenge your brain. >> what's the real deal here? >> reporter: one long-time media figure who wants to challenge his audience is dr. drew pinski who provides over celebrity rehab where public figures con front their addictions. >> you don't know whether you want to get sober? >> the part of me that really wants to get sober. >> you smuggle drugs into the place. >> no i did not. no, i did not! >> unbeknownst to you. >> i said no, i did not. >> reporter: pinski is acutely aware that he is tapping into the worst instings of his audience. >> the reality is people only watch things that are dramatic. people are drawn to dysfunctional behaviors but you have to use that desire to watch it to create opportunities to teach. >> what's going on, bro? >> it's not a matter of if. for me it's a matter of when i decide. >> reporter: by contrast, says pinski, consider shows like mtv's run-away hit jersey shore which has garnered huge attention by featuring young italian-americans exemplifying what critics call every ethnic stereotype. >> i would say jersey shore is really just sitting and a passively consuming behavior that is pathological as opposed to showing what is behind that, what can be done about it. >> reporter: at times the hunger for the fame these shows bring can turn bizarre. as when the nation's television screens were filled with the story of a six-year-old boy aloft in a balloon. a hoax designed to get the family owe a reality show. but remember the couple who crashed president obama's first state dinner last fall? in hopes of getting on a reality show? well, it worked. they're both featured in the real housewives of d.c. >> it's a deal. >> reporter: and many participants on these shows sometimes display a strong, even desperate desire to maintain their 15 minutes of fame. and in fact there is an after life for the briefly famous or notorious. >> mark. >> reporter: mark, who appeared on average joe in 2003, now runs real management which books more than 400 people for more than 50 reality shows. some have stories to tell. like overcoming addiction. but for others.... >> people just want to party with somebody famous yf obviously. the door goes crazy because people want to meet these famous people. >> you're fired. >> reporter: much of the criticism of reality tv is off the mark. >> i'm a little defensive about it because we all tend to be grouped together. i mean, they see no difference between me and the bachelor or me... it's all grouped together but it's not all the same. >> welcome once again to queen for a day. >> reporter: nor is it entirely new. half a century ago, audiences got to vote on whose life was more troubled. on queen for a day. >> number 3. >> reporter: and contestants eagerly humiliated themselves for prizes on "beat the clock." but the sheer volume as well as the often jaw-dropping behavior of today's reality shows has opened another chapter in a very old debate. can what we see and hear on television affect us for the worst? >> i think the danger is that they're a toxin in the culture. it is not entirely possible to watch these shows and not be affected by them. it's fabulous to watch, which is our entertaining. but that stuff is nevertheless poison potion. >> if you eliminated reality tv entirely as a genre, there would be no changes. just a symptom of what people want. good and bad. it just reflects our society. nothing more. >> it was like tora-terrible. >> reporter: russ mitchell catches up with the pride of boston ben affleck next sunday morning. no oil has flowed into the gulf for weeks, but it's just the beginning of our work. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. my job is to listen to the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel and restaurant workers and find ways to help. that means working with communities. we have 19 centers in 4 states. we've made over 120,000 claims payments, more than $375 million. we've committed $20 billion to an independent claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. we'll keep looking for oil, cleaning it up e gulf coast. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. bp is gonna be here until the oil is gone and the people and businesses are back to normal... until we make this right. ♪ [ female announcer ] the best way to tell how great you look is in your jeans. drop a jean size in two weeks with the special k challenge and enjoy a good source of fiber in many of your favorite special k products. ♪ jeans don't lie. go to specialk.com to design your plan. >> osgood: the end of summer is around the corner. a new season is begining. time to check the mail. we begin our report with a mistake we made if last week's almanac when we told you that actress ingrid bergman won one of her three oscars for her performance in the movie notorious. not so. she did win three oscars but none of them for notorious. from charlotte stevens comes this note. the years i have seen the name robin skeet as editor on many stories. i would like to see a feature on him or her. robin is our supervising editor which is to say the boss editor. the reason you see his name so often is he's so talented. and finally, this note from young alexa of california who tells us i am nine years old. and i think your show is awesome. some of my friends think your show is boring. but i think your show is very interesting. mo rocca and bill geist are hilarious. i hope the show goes on forever. so do we, alexa. we think you're awesome. do you have words for us? praise or admonishment, drop us a line. now to our friend harry smith siting in this morning for bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. good morning, harry. >> smith: good morning, charles. this morning how to boost a stuckaling economy and how that struggling economy will affect mid-term elections coming up on face the nation. >> osgood: thank you, harry, we'll be watching. ahead now here on sunday morning. >> reporter: just eat it. >> osgood: a little pie in the sky. with bill geist. with so many to choose from it's hard to see the difference. but this is the way his dentist chooses a toothbrush. fact is, more dentists brush with an oral-b toothbrush than any other brush. ♪ if you could see what your dentist sees, you'd reach for an oral-b toothbrush too. oral-b. hey what's going on? doing the shipping. man, it would be a lot easier if we didn't have to weigh 'em all. if those boxes are under 70 lbs. you don't have to weigh 'em. with these priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. no weigh? nope. no way. yeah. no weigh? sure. no way! uh-uh. no way. yes way, no weigh. priority mail flat rate box shipping starts at $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. time for a little pie in the sky from our bill geist. >> reporter: down in round top, texas, there's a small cafe with a big idea. a cure for pie anxiety. friends, do you toss and turn at night worrying about where your next pie is coming from? >> oh, my god. >> reporter: well, worry no more. royers cafe has announced a revolutionary new program called pie for life. >> that's good stuff. >> reporter: which guarantees you'll receive a freshly baked pie every month forever. is this going to be a big pie day. >> everyday is a big pie day here. >> reporter: you'll enjoy the same pie that bud the pie man royer serves to flocks of fanciers making the pilgrimage to his pie power. >> fabulous. >> the only thing sweeter than the pie is bud. >> i do a chocolate chip. it's like a cookie. i do a pe can that's not overly sweet. a butter scotch chip. we do an apple. cherry. blueberry with granola. a strawberry rue bash with a blueberry topping. then i have the pumpkin. >> reporter: wow. >> is that all mine? >> that's all yours. >> reporter: the pie enthusiasm i haves woof down lunch desperate to order desert. >> pe can. and butter milk. >> reporter: ud... suddenly comes an onslaught of pie. >> awesome. it's if. >> reporter: bud applies a 50 cent surcharge if you don't have ice cream on your pie. >> you have to have ice cream on pie. it's just wrong if you don't. it's a matter of principle. >> reporter: this all starteded back in 1987 with bud using grandma's recipe to make a couple of pies a week. >> not my grandma. so it is an old family recipe just not my family. >> reporter: how many pies do you think you sell now? >> during the week we'll sell a couple hundred pies just out the door here. >> reporter: that's 10,000 pies a year. he sells thousands more by mail order. all right. how can one man bake that many pies? he can't. most are made in houston these days using bud's recipes, of course. he hopes to sell thousands more with his pie for life program. an annuity plan that guarantees pie in perpetuity. let me think about it. how much must all that pie cost? >> use your calculator. >> reporter: the price varies according to the customer's life expectancy as determined by actuarial tables and "pie" charts. >> it has to be a win-win. the win for me is i get the money from you now. you probably are going to die early. the win for you is you're going to get the lower inflation. >> reporter: no one has figured the effect on life span of eating all those pies. so i've been crunching some numbers here. >> for the rest of your life one-time fee, $6,869. >> reporter: that's quite an investment. but who can really put a price on piece of mind? or for that matter a piece of pie. do you think this is a good deal? >> for me, yes. for me, yes. >> reporter: for me? not for you. nobody has signed up yet but bud is certain they will. >> when you figure what he charges per pie it's not a bad deal especially if you live 80 or 90 years old it's not a bad deal. it's only money. you can't take it with you. i'm thinking about it. >> what is this? >> just eat it. i'll tell you. >> reporter: bud is betting i'll only last another 180 pies. >> it's to die for. it really is. >> reporter: it's a sobering thought. realizing that each of us has a finite number of pies left. >> pie for life. >> reporter: so we should enjoy every bite. >> doesn't that sound wonderful. >> reporter: i love it. to eat the way they shouldng ous requires a little magic from mom. [ kids ] whoa! [ marcia ] new motts medleys. looks and tastes just like the motts juice kids already love. but has two total fruit and veggie servings in every glass. new motts medleys. invisible vegetables, magical taste. got the gecko t-shirt... on is "4 million drivers switched!" gecko water bottle... notebook... chamois... gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncomfortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. guys. can i help you? i'm sandy and i heard you've been struggling with the quilt. i'm here to take you through my 1-step program to break the quilted habit. but i've always used quilted towels. quilted is towel speak for air. but viva puts 35% more towel between you and the mess. wow, 35% more? are you ready to take that 1-step to see what an unquilted viva towel can do? yes, i'm ready. beautiful. [ cheers and applause ] [ sandy ] try viva® and quit the quilt. >> osgood: we leave you this sunday morning before labor day among the wild flowers of the colorado mountains. ??pn >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then, i'll see you the radio. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,,,,,,