Triad Today

Five Republican candidates for Congress in the new 6th district will be interviewed on Triad Today in a special voter education episode which will air this Saturday and Sunday.

There are six candidates registered for the March 5 Republican primary. Pictured left to right, they are: Christian Castelli, a combat veteran and business owner; Dr. Mary Ann Contogiannis, a plastic surgeon; former High Point Mayor Jay Wagner; former insurance lobbyist Addison McDowell; former Congressman Mark Walker, and (not pictured) attorney Bo Hines, the only one who declined to participate in the special.

Democrat Kathy Manning is not seeking re-election after the Republican-controlled state legislature re-drew map boundaries to favor a GOP candidate in the new district, which now includes southwest Guilford, southern Forsyth, northwest Cabarrus, Davie, Davidson and Rowan counties, High Point, Kernersville, and Walkertown.

Each of the five Republican candidates was given 5 minutes to talk about their personal and professional background, why they want to serve in Congress, and what their top priorities would be if elected. Here are excerpts from those conversations.

Jim: What about your personal or professional background prepares you to serve in Congress?

Wagner: I’ve spent the last eleven years serving the city of High Point, five on City Council, and six as Mayor, and I’ve had a very successful record of economic development.

McDowell: I spent four years working with Senator Ted Budd in his district office, and that includes much of the new 6th district, so I got to know the problems that the folks in this district have with navigating the bureaucracy of the federal government.

Contogiannis: My parents immigrated from Greece. We always went to church together. They taught us to love family, love God, and love our country. That was a moral compass for me in my life.

Castelli: I spent 22 years serving this great country, the Army provided me with a tremendous civilian and military education.  It taught me leadership, decision making and problem solving, and there’s no shortage of problems in our government that need to be solved today.

Walker: Knowing this community, serving this community, 16 years as a pastor, 16 years as a member of Congress, and closing over 1,800 veterans’ cases. We don’t talk about it that much because now it’s all about who has the largest social media profile, but this is still a position about serving your community, something we’re very proud of.


Jim: If elected, what problems or priorities would you want to tackle first?

Contogiannis: The most important one is closing our border.

Wagner: One party wants to shut the border down, and the other wants to manage the inflow, so I think we have to have a very serious discussion about what the policy should be and then be able to act on that.   

Walker: It’s reached a point where it has to be resolved very quickly. There were about 300,000 illegal immigrants who came across our border in the month of December alone, and those are just the ones we know about. 

Castelli: We have a border crisis of epic proportions. Some would lead you to believe that illegal immigration is a victimless crime, and that is absolutely false.

McDowell: We have to secure the border, and for me it’s a personal thing.  Today would have been my little brother’s 28th birthday, and we lost Luke to fentanyl that was likely manufactured in China and smuggled up through Mexico.


Jim: Should the federal government regulate social media and the internet, the same way it does with TV and radio?

Contogiannis: I know there needs to be regulation. The right vehicle is something to be determined, but yes, it needs to be regulated.

Walker: I think we’ve reached a place where we have to. There are countless issues we’re seeing with young folks and even adults who social media has consumed, but also it has created a place for racketeering and trafficking the way it’s utilized.  The bad guys are always going to use any kind of medium, so I think government has a role in making sure we have stop gaps for protection.

McDowell: Our children are facing a crisis, and I care about my daughter and I care about what she sees.    

Wagner: I think that’s something we have to look at, but we also can’t escape the fact that parents have some responsibility for what their children are doing. You can’t allow your kids to do things and not supervise what they’re doing, and then blame the government because they’re not regulating it.


Jim: Do you support term limits for members of Congress?

Wagner: Yes, I’ve signed a pledge to limit my terms and I did that as Mayor. I served six years, and I chose not to run again. 

Contogiannis: There is a point where people are there just too long and get entrenched in things. The most important thing is that voters can vote them in or out.  If you’re not doing a good job, then voters can take care of it.

Walker: We were blessed to be in leadership pretty quickly on, but it takes some time to navigate in a way you feel like you’re serving your community. But I do not approve of any situation where this is a lifelong job. It was never designed that way by our founding fathers.

Castelli: I have no desire to be a career politician. I am a soldier and I want to go up there and do a tour of duty in Washington and get things moving in the right direction.

This special edition of Triad Today airs Saturday at 7:30am on abc45, Sunday at 11am on MY48, and streams on WFMY+.

Earlier this month HanesBrands announced that it was eliminating another 159 jobs in Winston-Salem. The key phrase here is “another.” That’s because, over the past 14 years, the once great community-oriented company has been about the business of decimating our community.

In 2006, HanesBrands employed nearly 5,000 people in Forsyth County. That was the year the company split from Sara Lee, and CEO Rich Noll promised, “HanesBrands will always be a major employer in Forsyth County and have a strong community presence here.” But a not-so-funny thing happened right after Noll made that promise. Between 2007 and 2009, Noll closed 30 plants in the United States and began moving his workforce offshore. In 2007, for example, HanesBrands employed 350 people in China. By 2009, that number had risen to over 6,000.

Meanwhile, the Great Recession of 2008 gave Noll a perfect smokescreen for continuing his campaign to send local jobs overseas. In May of 2009, Noll announced that he was closing the Stratford Road and Weeks plants in Winston-Salem, and laying off 440 workers. By year’s end, he had also eliminated subsidized medical benefits for retirees, leaving thousands of people without adequate medical coverage. Said Noll, the closures were caused by, “reduced consumer spending during a bleak economy.” Local business leaders and elected officials who always blindly supported Noll swallowed his explanation hook line and sinker. I guess they forgot that his 30 plant closings had occurred long before the economy was “bleak,” and that he had moved over 15,000 U.S. jobs out of the country while our economy was strong. Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce president Gayle Anderson defended Noll, telling the Winston-Salem Journal’s Richard Craver that HanesBrands continues to support the local economy with, “leadership and volunteerism.”

Leadership and volunteerism? First of all, corporate greed is not leadership; stripping retirees of their subsidized medical benefits is not leadership. Second, what exactly is the economic value of having thousands of unemployed volunteers in the community? And by the way, in the course of cutting jobs, HanesBrands abused the spirit of the Federal Trade Adjustment and Assistance Act, by filing claims on behalf of the employees they screwed and expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for up to 156 weeks of training.

This month’s local layoffs come on the heels of the 560 jobs that HanesBrands already eliminated in Forsyth County last year. It’s no surprise then that nearly 90% of the company’s total workforce is now located outside of the United States and in countries with poor standards of living. That means HanesBrands can pay slave wages for the manufacture of underwear that they then ship back to America and attempt to sell to their former employees, providing those folks can afford to buy the underwear that they used to make. Now that’s what I call leadership and commitment to community.

 
 

Joe Dudley grew up in rural North Carolina, living in a small house with his ten siblings. His pronounced speech impediment prompted Joe’s first grade teacher to label him mentally retarded, and he was held back. It would be the last time anyone would hold Joe back. Within 20 years he had founded one of the most successful minority-owned businesses in America. My friend Joe Dudley passed away on February 8. He was 86 years old.

I first met Joe back in 2006 when he was a guest on Triad Today. He made a number of subsequent appearances on my show, as did his wife Eunice and daughter Ursula. Eunice helped start Dudley Beauty Products and today, Ursula runs the company, which has customers all over the world.

In 1998, Joe penned a book, which can best be described as a combination autobiography and self-help primer for entrepreneurs. “I am, I Can, I Will: Walking By Faith” should be on the bedside table of every aspiring business person. Joe dedicated the book to his mentor S.B. Fuller, a self-made African American business owner whose biography accurately describes Fuller as a “Pioneer in Black Economic Development.”

Joe credits his success to Mr. Fuller and writes about him in “Walking By Faith.”

“Mr. Fuller believed that through hard work any obstacle could be overcome. It reinforced my notion that I could overcome the characterizations that plagued my childhood. I didn’t have to be mentally retarded. I didn’t have to be slow. I didn’t have to let a speech impediment stop me from speaking in public. The world had no limit as long as I worked hard. Mr. Fuller was good at giving hope and encouragement.”

Both Joe and Eunice began by opening a Fuller distributorship, then when inventory was in short supply, the power couple started selling their own products under the Dudley name, and the rest is history.

Upon learning of Joe’s passing, I went back and watched some of the Triad Today segments we did together, and one of my favorite episodes is from April of 2007. It was vintage Joe Dudley as he offered his take on the importance of saving money.

Jim: This is financial literacy month and I’m reminded that more and more local school systems are working with folks like Consumer Credit Counseling and area banks to offer financial literacy instruction to students. I know you agree that we need to give kids practical experience early on, right?

Joe: Absolutely. I think that’s very important. I started saving money early. I used to put pennies and dimes in a little can, where I couldn’t take it out, and that was the beginning of what we do in our business. We insist that everybody should save some money every week, every pay period. Because if you save money, it gives you self-control and confidence in that you have more than you did last year, last month, last week.

Jim: Do you come across kids who need to know and want to know about things like how to save?

Joe: Absolutely and they need to start saving now. So many people get themselves messed up because they don’t know how to balance a checkbook. They don’t know how to use credit properly, don’t know how to get a car loan or home loan, and they need to know these things as early as they possibly can.

Jim: Recent studies show that the average household owes about $12,000 dollars in credit card debt. Why is this happening?

Joe: Well, people to some degree don’t know how to manage their money and they spend more than they make. I tell people, “You’re alright if you spend less than you make.” Nobody makes you spend more than you make. You have to have some discipline and you have to work on it. One young woman said to another, “I don’t want to work for Dudley,” and the other lady said, “WHY?” and she said, “because he makes you save money” (laughs).

Jim: How much money did you have when you started out?

Joe: I started out with $10, and now we’ve built a business all over the world. I just got back from Malaysia and Japan and we built it all on $10. But it was something more than that. I saved money in spite of everything, I don’t care what it was. I don’t care how much it was. I went into the bank once and just put 50 cents in my account. People look at me and say, “there’s something wrong with that guy”, but I knew one thing. I was forming a habit of saving.

Jim: If I give you $10 right now, can you make millions for me?

Joe: (laughs) I wish I could (laughs).

Jim: Oh, so now you’re backing up! I offered to give you $10, and now Mr. Philosophy is backing out on me.

Joe: Well, I can show you how to put that $10 into something else.

Jim: I’m not disciplined enough for that. You’re going to have to leave now.

Joe: (laughs)

Joe Dudley did help others learn to save money and learn self-assurance. He helped jump start careers and made it possible for some folks who worked for him to start their own business. And so, what he inscribed in my copy of his book is, to say the least, ironic. He wrote, “To Jim. Thank you for all the good you do.” It’s an inscription that we all should have written to Joe.

 
 

Like most folks, I have suffered personal loss. I lost my parents many years ago, and I lost a number of very close friends who left us way too soon. But I’ve never been a parent, so there is no way I can possibly know what it is to lose a child. I can, however, sympathize and empathize with grieving parents, especially when they had no control over the fate of their child. Parents can’t predict that their child will be killed by a drunk driver. Parents can’t prevent a child from getting terminal cancer. Parents can’t stop a drive-by shooting or have x-ray vision to know that candy has been laced with a toxic substance. And parents can’t always know the extent of their child’s mental state or proclivity for committing suicide. Yes, there are signs to look for when a child is emotionally disturbed, such as certain changes in personal habits and behaviors, but parents are often not aware of the triggers that lead their child to take his own life. And that brings me to last week’s Congressional hearing, and the problem of and with social media.

On January 31, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee convened a hearing in which the chief executives of five tech companies were called to testify and be questioned about the dangers of social media on children, particularly teenagers. Appearing were Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Discord CEO Jason Citron, and X CEO Linda Yaccarino. In the gallery sat parents holding up photos of their children who had committed suicide after being affected by content on and messaging through various social media platforms.

The hearing was ostensibly scheduled to address child sexual exploitation facilitated by those online platforms. But it also brought into focus the growing number of teen suicides that parents and politicians blame solely on social media, and which Louisiana Senator John Kennedy referred to as “killing fields of information.” Said Kennedy to the five CEOs, “You have convinced over 2 billion people to give up all of their personal information in exchange for getting to see what their high school friends had for dinner Saturday night.”

Trusting teens who do give up their personal information put themselves at risk for any number of traumatic outcomes including everything from blackmail over nude photos to agreeing to meet a pedophile who they thought was someone their own age. Social media has also been blamed for facilitating cyber bullying which has led many young teens to take their own life. It’s no wonder that Senator Josh Hawley asked if any of the CEOs would like to publicly apologize to the parents in attendance. Zuckerberg stood up, faced the parents, and expressed his regret for the lives lost.

Emotions ran high in the hearing room and for once, both political parties seemed to walk in lockstep, showing compassion for parents and contempt for the CEOs. But as with most all other televised Congressional hearings, this one was for show. It was a chance for senators to simultaneously express sympathy for “victims” of social media, and outrage over the greed of those whose companies profit from social media.

The question is, will anything positive come from the hearing? Sadly, it’s not likely. Similar hearings about school massacres have yielded no substantive gun reforms. For years now I and a handful of elected officials have called for the FCC to regulate social media platforms but to no avail. That’s because Congress is famous for grandstanding then doing nothing. The good news is that in the absence of Congressional action, there is a simple solution for weakening social media’s hold on children and teens. It’s called parental vigilance.

Last year NPR reported that the American Psychological Association recommended parents should closely monitor their children’s social media feed, especially during early adolescence. The APA also said parents should “stop dangerous content that their child is exposed to.” But with apologies to the APA, there are bolder steps parents can take to protect their child. For one, they can issue their kids old-fashioned jitterbug type phones, which do not allow access to the internet. For another, they can block social media sites on their child’s home computer or laptop. These are easy steps to take which merely require parents to be assertive (and protective). That’s why I am a bit frustrated with parents who showed up at last week’s hearing and placed all of the blame on social media for the death of their children. Social media is a tool, but it’s also a weapon the same as a gun. A parent who would never keep a loaded gun in the house has no problem arming their child with smartphones and the ability to access social media and download all sorts of apps.

Predators, blackmailers, and con men will always be with us, but they can’t ply their trade if their intended prey is unreachable. Until such time as tech companies and technology can fully protect kids, then limiting access is a parent’s best defense against the dangers of social media.

America used to be the envy of the world because of our unwavering commitment to the ideals and practice of democracy. We used to be able to boast that ours is truly a representative form of government. But that boast is no longer credible. That’s because, over the past 20 years, the two-party system has fomented and overseen an unparalleled level of voter suppression.

On the national level, both the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have been guilty of skullduggery, especially when it comes to dictating the rules involving Presidential primaries. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was so threatened by the popularity of Bernie Sanders that she stood by as her buddy, DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz, conspired to damage Sanders’ candidacy at every turn.

Leaked emails showed, for example, that the DNC planned to use Bernie’s religion against him in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. Schultz also kept in place the Super Delegate system, which Sanders opposed because party hacks could commit to Clinton early on and run up the delegate count.

The RNC is also not above dirty politics either. Just last week it was revealed that the committee secretly drafted a resolution declaring Donald Trump the presumptive nominee after just one primary had occurred. The resolution was withdrawn after it became public knowledge. Meanwhile, the GOP has protected and sustained its own winner-take-all primary system in 20 key states. That makes for a less competitive field and often knocks legitimate challengers out of the race early.

Then there’s the problem of closed primaries. In states with a closed primary, registered Republicans can only vote in the Republican primary, and the same with registered Democrats. In those states, even folks registered as “unaffiliated” aren’t allowed to participate. According to a Lee Enterprises poll, in 2022 among nine states with closed or partially closed Congressional primaries, two in five registered voters in districts where there was a contested race, were barred from casting a ballot. In fact, people were not allowed to choose their own representative in one of every three Congressional districts.

Jeremy Gruber, an attorney for the group Open Primaries which is lobbying to require every state to hold open primaries, told Lee Newspapers, “We’ve allowed the two major political parties to control the process that our tax dollars pay for, and it’s perverted our democracy in all kinds of ways.”

States whose legislatures are controlled by Republicans are especially guilty of perverting our democracy as they seek to suppress the votes of Democrats in general and those in urban areas in particular. Nowhere is that truer than here in North Carolina where the GOP’s most recently drawn gerrymandered Congressional district maps are disenfranchising millions of voters from choosing their own representative.

Here, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, yet in this year’s election, the GOP map will most likely produce a Congressional delegation comprised of 11 Republicans and three Democrats, instead of our current seven and seven. One casualty of gerrymandering is veteran Democratic Congressperson Kathy Manning who decided not to seek re-election after studying the new district boundaries. The 6th district now heavily favors Republican candidates, which is why whoever wins the six-person primary on March 5 will, by default, become our new “representative,” and I use the term loosely.

If we are ever to restore our once great Democratic form of government, then three things have to happen. First, Congress (or the Courts) must require that every state hold open primaries. Second, all primaries must allocate delegates to every candidate according to the votes cast. And third, each state must be required to have in place a truly bi-partisan committee to create Congressional districts that reflect the population. Otherwise for many of us, the concept of “one man, one vote,” is just that — a concept, and not a reality.

I have nothing against dancing. In fact, once in junior high my partner and I won a waltz contest. And like most red-blooded American boys of that era, I thought there was something rather sensual about Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth pressing the flesh with Fred Astaire. Hell, I was even rooting for Maria and Captain Von Trapp to make out while doing the Laendler. On-screen or in real life, dancing is a beautiful expression of friendship and love, and an outlet for fun. It’s what most toddlers do the first time they hear snappy music, and as we get older, we dance at wedding receptions, parties, and nightclubs. Dancing is in our blood. That’s why Dancing With the Stars is one of the most popular programs on television. My beef isn’t with dancing, it’s with the plethora of corny TV commercials that have come to rely on dancing to sell products that have nothing to do with dancing.   

Truth is, dancing has been used in TV advertisements since the 1950s, but it has become overused since the early part of this century. Today people appearing in TV ads seem to break into dance moves at the drop of a hat, regardless of the product they are hawking.

Beverage ads are among the biggest offenders. A girl drinking Sun Drop cola dances from scene to scene, interrupting people who are doing yoga on the beach. A guy opens a bottle of Coca-Cola in a convenience store and starts dancing to other locations, including into someone’s bedroom where kids are playing video games, and on a rooftop where some guys are watching a soccer match. A young man is put on hold, so while waiting to be connected, he and his wife start dancing because they like Bud Light. Guys in a barber shop get up and start dancing in the street, then dance over to a laundromat, then suddenly they are at the beach. The reason? Because Bicardi “Moves you.” A flash mob gathers in a hotel lobby where they spontaneously break into a rip-off of “Thriller”… Why? Because they all drink Lipton Ice Tea. And who knew that babies start dancing when given a bottle of Evian to sip on? 

Food ads are also filled with dancing. In one spot, a Fig Newton mascot entices us to eat him by dancing the “Fig Newton Dance.” Meanwhile, animated characters dance with joy because they just called Grub Hub. And we’re prompted to shop at Whole Foods because their stores feature a cut-out of two people dancing in front of fully stocked shelves.

Automobile manufacturers also rely on dancing to sell their products. In one ad Toyota featured a disco dance party, and in another, a customer breaks into a maniacal dance just because there’s a sale going on. Volkswagen once transformed Gene Kelly into a hip-hop hoofer, and Kia used dancing bears who performed to “Gangnam Style” music.

Smartphones and cellular companies are no strangers to the dance craze either. They have included Samsung and T-Mobile which featured flash mobs, and Nextel where folks at a dance party love their phone service.

But the most obnoxious TV commercials are for weight loss medicines. Jardiance features a postal carrier who walks past a bunch of people hanging around an outdoor fountain. Suddenly the mob starts dancing because they are excited about diabetes. Sensa even brings law enforcement into their act. In one spot a police officer is suddenly surrounded by a mob of people dancing in front of a courthouse. The judge then comes outside and commences to perform cartwheels, all because he heard about a salt shaker that cuts calories. But the champion of dancing-themed TV commercials is Ozempic. In every spot, crowds of people gyrate as they sing “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic!” Having tried Ozempic myself I can tell you that “Oh, oh, oh” refers to what you scream as you try to make it to the bathroom.

I suppose that TV spots featuring people dancing for no reason are harmless so long as the dancers are drinking Coca-Cola, or attending a sale at the Kia dealership. But such nonsense is frivolous and misleading when it comes to life-threatening diseases like diabetes, arthritis, COPD and obesity, and I’m not the only one who is bothered by this. Social media is replete with folks who are offended by this kind of television advertising.

Someone on Reddit named Dandle recently posted:

“There are currently more than 19,000 prescription drugs approved for marketing in the U.S….too many of those ad campaigns are created by agencies gunning for recognition at industry award shows rather than engaging appropriate audiences with helpful and relevant information about an available treatment for a specific health condition. Awards go to the spots with mascots and song and dance numbers, not to the earnest and measured summaries of scientific information.”

Dancing can be lots of fun, but there’s just nothing funny about our health. The ad agencies who put this crap on TV should be ashamed, or at least be made to scream on the way to the bathroom.

 
 

Popeye the Sailor Man was normally a quiet, peace-loving guy, but when pushed to the brink, he sprang into action, saying, “That’s all I can stands. I can’t stands no more!” I reached my brink on December 27 when West Virginia’s head coach was doused with a huge container of Duke’s mayonnaise after his team beat North Carolina in (you guessed it) the Duke’s Mayonnaise Bowl. Then there was the Pop Tart Bowl, where, after the game a giant Pop Tart rushed onto the field and let itself be eaten (literally) by the victorious Kansas State Wildcats. And following the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, a cheese mascot emerged to hold up a box of product in front of the announcing team. Of course, at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the sponsor didn’t even have the decency to wait until after the game for shameless plugs. Throughout the game, the announcing team kept sampling various mayo-friendly recipes, like mayonnaise tacos, and pepperoni rolls with mayo. WTF?!!! Had I tuned into a football game or an episode of Celebrity Chef? What’s next? The Adam & Eve Bowl where announcers sample sex toys? Truth be told, though, I didn’t reach my brink from watching a three-hour commercial for Duke’s Mayonnaise. I reached it because I’ve had it with bowl games altogether.

Up until 1945, there were five major college football bowl games: the Rose, the Orange, the Sugar, the Cotton, and the Gator. Back then, and even into the 1950s and ’60s when the Peach and Liberty bowls were added, New Year’s holiday games really meant something. Fans got to see the top 14 teams go head-to-head for bragging rights to an imaginary national championship. Was it a scientific way of choosing a national champ? Of course not. But participating schools received some money and a ton of exposure for their athletic program. That, in turn, drove recruiting efforts, not just for athletes, but also for rank-and-file students and professors. Unfortunately, that level of prestige was short-lived.

Slowly but surely, the NCAA kept allowing cities and sponsors to underwrite additional bowl games such as the Independence Bowl, the Holiday Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl. Even worse, the bowls themselves took a back seat to the sponsors. The Peach Bowl was no longer the Peach Bowl. It was the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Orange Bowl became the Capital One Bowl, and the Cotton Bowl morphed into the Goodyear Bowl. It was a double whammy: too many bowl games and too much commercialization.

As with anything, the more you multiply the product, the more you diminish its intrinsic value. A collector’s coin of the 2025 presidential inauguration, for example, would seem to be of great value. But if 10 million of the coins are minted, the coin becomes less special. And so it is with college football bowl games. Once there were five major bowls. Today there are 42. Today it’s all about television ad revenues and product placement, never mind the quality and prestige of the game. Does anyone really believe there are 84 teams who deserve to be in a nationally televised bowl game? Hell, all you have to do is win half of your games against weak opponents, and, voila! You are invited to a bowl game. Worse still, so many college players are entering the NFL draft portal now, that when you tune in to watch a bowl game, chances are the top players aren’t even playing. That’s OK with me, though. I just wish the sponsors would opt out of the games the same as the players.

Bowl games today are no longer special. They are just long-form advertisements for sponsors like Bad Boys Mowers, Barstool Sports, and Scooter’s Coffee. In the immortal words of Popeye, “It’s all I can stands. I can’t stands no more!”

 
 

Say what you will about the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but truth is the most connected man in Hollywood is Ed Begley, Jr. That’s because Ed knows or has worked with just about every major celebrity in the universe. Now, thanks to his new memoir, we can all feel connected to Ed.

To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step On It! takes us on a no-holds-barred journey with Ed, who, at age 74, still looks like he could pass for a member of the Beach Boys. In the book we learn of his early struggles with alcohol (drinking a quart of vodka daily), and his more recent battle with Parkinson’s. We discover that Ed didn’t know the identity of his biological mother until he was nearly 16 years old, yet, despite the trauma of that revelation, he didn’t hold a grudge against his Dad. Just the opposite. Ed Jr. revered his famous Oscar-winning father and was in awe of his talent. And of course, we get to learn about Ed’s celebrity friends (both famous and infamous), and what led him to become an environmental activist.

I first got “connected” to Ed back in 1997 when I was writing a series of articles about St. Elsewhere, the groundbreaking medical drama that launched the careers of Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, and Mark Harmon. It also made Ed a major celebrity in his own right, garnering six straight EMMY nominations for his portrayal of Dr. Victor Ehrlich. The issues-driven show also taught Ed about the impact that television has on people’s lives. During a taping of Donohue, the St. Elsewhere cast heard from one audience member who said, “I was in the hospital for 21 days with colon cancer. Friends, God, and St. Elsewhere were responsible for healing me.”

“It made me feel good being attached to that show,” Ed told me.

Today Ed’s Parkinsons is under control, and he is still acting, most recently as the professor in Young Sheldon. He lives in a LEED-certified house with his wife Rachelle Carson who has served as his partner and foil both on TV and in real life for the past 24 years. I recently spoke with Ed about his new book, his health, and his commitment to protecting the environment.

Jim: Soon after your father told you the identity of your biological mother, you began to abuse alcohol. But what else drove you to drink?

Ed: Well, I really admired guys like Richard Burton, Oliver Reed, and Peter O’Toole. They were incredible actors and I wanted to be like them. I thought it was the drinking that made them great, so I actually pursued alcohol when I was just 15-and-a-half years old. I wanted to drink like them, drink like a man, and not like my Dad who quit drinking when I was about three years old.

Jim: You caught the acting bug from your father. Tell me about that.

Ed: When he was in a play, I would go backstage, and I went on tour with him for shows like Look Homeward Angel and Advise and Consent. I’d go backstage and I could feel the energy in the audience. So, I wanted to do what my Dad did, but I had it all wrong, Jim. I’m thinking, “Dad makes it look easy, and I’m a charming guy, so just give me a role on Gunsmoke or Ben Casey.” But I didn’t train.

Jim: Did your Dad’s name ever open doors for you or land you any jobs?

Ed: At first, I wanted to change my name and not trade off of my father’s reputation, but I quickly realized how hard it was to get into the business. I could also see how much it would hurt my father’s feelings if I changed my name and didn’t carry on the Begley tradition, so I became Ed Begley, Jr. 

Jim: Who were your favorite film or TV actors when you were a kid?

Ed: I liked John Wayne and Rock Hudson…but it never occurred to me to put my father in that group because I had no idea what a great actor he was, and how incredible he was in 12 Angry Men, or how great he was in Sorry Wrong Number. I finally developed a sense of gratitude for being born the son of Ed Begley. I had won the lottery, Jim, and I didn’t even buy a ticket. Yeah, I was a “nepo” baby but I didn’t know what that was. I finally took acting classes to get some finer level of skills, and then I’d get a call from somebody saying to come in and read for a part on a TV series, and it turns out it was my father who had set it up. I just had very little gratitude for being born on second base.  

Jim: You and I are both children of the 1950s, which was hardly an era for environmental responsibility and awareness, so what led you to become an activist?

Ed: I saw the smog around Los Angeles. I saw the Santa Barbara oil spill. And I saw pictures of the Cuyahoga River catching fire in Cleveland. Well, rivers aren’t supposed to catch fire. So when they had the first Earth Day in 1970, I said “Sign me up.” I started recycling and composting, and I bought an electric car.

Jim: You talk a lot about our carbon footprint. What do you mean?

Ed: Our carbon footprint is the net result of how much CO2 it takes to do any job or activity. It takes a certain amount of CO2 to make a mountain bike or solar panels, or a wind turbine. But if you build them right, they last 30 or 40 years and they will give you a net savings of CO2 over the life of those items. The point is if you make your decisions with a little bit of education and a little bit of thought, you can beat the dealer, if you will. You’re using less CO2 than you are making. I have been carbon-negative since 1985 thanks in part to investing in a wind farm, and installing a solar roof.

Jim: When did you first suspect that you had Parkinson’s?

Ed: Back in the late 90s, I’d try to do something with my left pinky finger, and it would twitch, and I’d think, “What the hell is that?” Then I had to get special boots made because of problems with my left heel. I had pain in my left arm that lasted for months and months. All of the problems were on the left side of my body, and that was a sure sign of Parkinson’s. In 2004, I started having trouble with my balance, and my body would twitch, but I didn’t report it to the doctor. Then in 2016, I went to a speech therapist because I was starting to slur my words and couldn’t articulate them the way I used to. That’s when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

Jim:  You probably know more celebrities than anyone else in Hollywood. Your friends include Taylor Swift, Nicholson, DiCaprio, Denzel, Streep, and hundreds of other A-listers. Even so, how is it you came to cook dinner for DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, Daniel Day Lewis, and Hugh Jackman all on one night?

Ed: That was the brainchild of Howard Koch, Jr. a friend of mine who was president of the Academy and I was on the board. And Howard said, “I have a great idea, let’s have the governors of each branch cook dinner for a group of 2013 Oscar nominees. So, I cooked a vegan meal for those guys. They all had a great time interacting with each other and enjoyed each other’s company.

Jim: Why did you decide to write this book now?

Ed: Two years ago, my daughter Hayden came to me and said she wanted to record some stories of what it was like when I was growing up, and some of the famous people I had known. It was kinda fun talking to her about that, so I started taking some notes on my computer, and typing up all those things that were in the attic of my mind.

Jim: You wrote in the book that you were once attacked by 25 guys, stabbed repeatedly, and almost died. Is it true that those guys were oil lobbyists?

Ed: [laughs] It was not true, and it wasn’t 25. It was maybe a dozen.

To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step On It! is available from Amazon.

 
 

As we celebrate this holiday season, let’s not forget that there are people beyond our immediate circle of family and friends who are suffering, and could benefit from our love and generosity. Over the past decade, I’ve been able to showcase scores of community organizations on my Triad Today television show, and in the process, I’ve learned that there are several ways we can help these agencies help others. The first is to donate goods. Second is to donate money. And, third is to donate our time. Of course, some nonprofit groups can benefit from all three types of giving. Here, in no particular order, are just a few organizations to which you might lend your support.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC: Even prior to the pandemic, the Piedmont Triad had one of the worst food insecurity problems in the nation, and that included the problem of childhood hunger. Now, with thousands more of our neighbors in need, the problem has worsened, including for children. To help alleviate the hunger problem, Second Harvest Food Bank has stepped up its efforts to distribute food to nonprofit agencies who feed hungry people in an 18-county area. The Food Bank has also partnered with a number of area companies to provide meals for kids. You can write a check directly to the food bank, or you can drop off non-perishable food items at a number of locations in our area. For more information call 336-784-5770, or visit SecondHarvestNWNC.org.

Cancer Services, Inc.‘s stated mission is “to enhance quality of life for those living with cancer, and to provide the gift of life through education.” Their services include patient advocacy, financial assistance, providing equipment and supplies, offering peer support groups, and much more. Ninety percent of funds donated to Cancer Services, Inc. goes directly to providing client services. In addition to money, you can also donate used equipment and supplies. Call 336-760-9983, or visit CancerServicesOnline.org.

Greensboro Urban Ministry is on the front lines when it comes to providing emergency assistance. Greensboro Urban Ministry provides homeless families in Guilford County with a safe, temporary environment. Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve meals, manage shelters, tutor children, and perform a variety of other duties. Monetary donations are also much appreciated. Call 336-271-5959, or visit GreensboroUrbanMinistry.org.

Mountain Valley Hospice is a nonprofit agency that serves an 18-county area in North Carolina and Virginia, and provides personalized care for patients at the end of life, as well as comfort to families. Mountain Valley Hospice has offices throughout the region, and operates two hospice homes. They also specialize in care for terminally ill children and veterans, and offer grief support for kids and adults. To give money or inquire about volunteering, call 1-888 789-2922, or visit MtnValleyHospice.org.

The Petty Family Foundation: NASCAR legend Richard Petty and his family support a number of charitable organizations including Paralyzed Veterans of America and Victory Junction Camp, the latter of which provides an uplifting experience for children with severe disabilities and terminal illnesses. To make a donation or learn more, visit PettyFamilyFoundation.org.

Shift_ed provides qualified students with college scholarships, and much more. Formerly “Say YES Guilford”, Shift_ed also provides students with support services that are designed to help them be successful in life. Their equity-based program begins in kindergarten and includes everything from tutoring to career counseling. Shift_ed relies in part upon donations from companies and individuals. To learn more about scholarships, or to make a donation, visit Shift-ed.org.

Carolina Donor Services and Red Cross &ehellip; There can be no greater gift this holiday season than the gift of life, and that’s why you might consider donating blood and signing a donor card. Either gesture requires only a few minutes of your time, and will almost certainly result in saving someone’s life in the future. You can reach Carolina Donor Services at 1-800 200-2672, or CarolinaDonorServices.org. You can call the Red Cross at 336-333-2111, or visit them online at RedCross.org.

Please remember that your donations of time, money, or goods to area community organizations are vitally important, not just now, but throughout the coming year. It’s also a way for us to expand the circle of people we care about, and that’s something worth celebrating in this season of giving.