The Mr. Bill Show

Please join me in wishing a Happy 56th Birthday to Bill Welch - a great guy to hang out with at a train wreck, peace rally, county commissioner meltdown or double homicide. In fact, I can't think of a single tense incident this veteran wise-ass hasn't mollified with his biting patter and ever-present ballcap. An elder Jedi of the Piedmont News Council, Bill's been materializing at the edge of imbroglios for longer than I can truly fathom. In that time he's achieved a street-level Zen of sorts; a prolific insider with a vast knowledge of back roads and happenstance. In other words, Dude's been a-round...

But all that newsgathering has not always been a few scratches on the soul. One simply cannot log as much time behind the glass as Bill has without occasionally getting a few shards in the mind's eye. From heated regime changes to missions improbable to the gutless bloodshed of a thousand newsroom wars - Bill's been there, and he's usually classed up the joint. These days he's back where he belongs, slinging a news lens and espousing the virtues of his new employer. As for just how many years he's been at it, I can't quite say, for every time Bill tells me I lose consciousness and wake up with a headache... I hate when that happens.