Triad Today

Last November I reported on the severe shortage of veterinarians and vet technicians in our area and throughout the nation. I learned from a study by Mars Veterinary Health and other sources that there aren’t enough vets to cover the current demand for pet medical care. One reason is the rise in pet adoptions over […]

Once upon a time, there was a 6-year-old Louisiana Cajun who landed a job playing the son of a Cuban band leader and ended up running an international ballet company. Along the way, he was the sage of Mayberry, the most visible member of a Christian rock band, almost joined the Von Trapp family, and […]

When someone has had a series of unpleasant experiences, they are said to have been “put through the wringer.” That describes my friend Meredith Baxter to a tee. As a child, she endured a bullying and sometimes creepy stepfather. Her beautiful celebrity mom was often distant. She was shipped off to a high school far […]

I have it on good authority that August is officially National Dog Month, but that is a meaningless designation for my wife and me. That’s because EVERY month is National Dog Month in our household. Our gang of three has the run of the house, gets the best of vet care, eats premium prescription food, sleeps in or […]

On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was tortured, beaten, and lynched by white men who said the Black youth had made a pass at a white woman. That woman was the wife of one of the hangmen, and it was later revealed that she had lied about her encounter with young Emmett. On August […]

As Labor Day approaches, I thought this might be a good time to examine the origins of state and federal holidays, and why we observe them. Before you read any further, though, here’s a trivia question: “Which two federal holidays does North Carolina not officially recognize?” I’ll get to the answer in a moment. First, let’s […]

I suppose I should have paid more attention in Bible class, but I grew up thinking that Abraham Lincoln originated the phrase, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” In fact, honest Abe stole that line from the Book of Matthew (12:22-28) during a campaign speech at the 1858 Illinois State Republican Convention where he won […]

Most of us watching television 50 years ago had three choices: ABC, CBS, and NBC. In some markets, there was an independent station on UHF, but there was no CW, FOX, or WB. There was no Paramount+, or Hulu or Netflix. There was no such thing as DirecTV, and less than ten million households even […]

Merriam-Webster defines an icon as “a person widely admired for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere.” That being the case, there should be an image of Richard Petty next to the definition of “icon” in every dictionary. Petty has the most wins in NASCAR history (200), the most championships (seven), and he put stock […]

When Alan Shepard became the first American launched into outer space, folks were glued to their television sets. After John Glenn became the first man to orbit the Earth, there were parades and celebrations. But soon, public interest in the Gemini space program waned, and most people couldn’t name the latest man into space or […]