Brian came into this one with a lot going on and couldn’t quite decide where to start — which, if you’ve been listening to the Happy Daily for any length of time, you know means it’s going to be a good one. He worked through the week’s local news: a new independent senior living development coming in near Pleasant Hill on Mountain Trace, the North Wilkesboro town board voting to resume posting video recordings of meetings online, Wilkes Community College landing on the list of schools eligible for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, and a 22-acre parcel off River Road being graded for economic development. Brian had opinions on all of it, including a brief detour into the possibility of pivoting his career to animal husbandry.

He also gave listeners a sneak peek at an upcoming weekly segment featuring his friend Ricky — a man Brian has known since kindergarten at Union Elementary and considers the smartest man in Wilkes County. Ricky’s area of expertise, as previewed here, is hidden messages embedded in common words. The word “Ford” was the primary exhibit. Experts are divided on whether the hidden message is “First On Race Day” or “Found On Road Dead.” Brian found this equally plausible and equally worth pondering.

And then there’s the Plinko board. Brian found it on Facebook Marketplace. It is four feet tall, plays the Plinko music, lights up at the bottom, and is more wonderful than he ever could have imagined. Kim suggested starting a fellowship society — the Hayes Plinko Players — possibly meeting at the church. Brian believes Plinko could bring the country together. A 15-part Ode to Plinko segment is reportedly in development.

If you want to help Brian out without spending a dime extra, just use his Amazon link at BrianKilby.com/Amazon next time you need toilet paper, toothpaste, or bulk bags of rice. And come find him over at facebook.com/HappyDayinWilkes — like the page so you don’t miss a thing. Got something on your mind? Leave a letter in his mailbox. Hope y’all have a happy day.

Wednesday’s Happy Daily came in at episode 3875, which Brian noted is a significant number — not a round one, but significant in the way that any number starts to feel significant when you’ve been showing up long enough.

The main topic was the proposed Wilkesboro town budget, which includes a one-cent property tax cut but would eliminate town-sponsored concerts and movies in the downtown commons. Brian understands budgets. He said so. He just also understands that there is a generation of Wilkes County children who will now grow up without seeing Highlander under the stars, and he is not prepared to let that go without comment. He made the case — earnestly and at some length — for Wild Thing (1987), The Goonies, Armageddon, and Big Trouble in Little China as the kind of civic infrastructure that a one-cent tax cut cannot replace. He also offered to perform a free concert himself, given the circumstances, and suggested that if folks wanted to let their commissioners know what they thought, they were welcome to mention that Brian Kilby sent them, and that Brian Kilby might make a reasonable county commissioner. Or governor. He’s open.

On the news front: Wilkes County commissioners approved more funding for Wilkes County Schools and Wilkes Community College than originally proposed, and the Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership kept its Main Street America designation after a strong year of investment and business growth downtown. The Wilkes Medical Center Foundation also welcomed two new board members.

Jack did not enjoy the rain. This was noted.

If you do your household shopping on Amazon — toilet paper, toothpaste, mouthwash, toenail fungus remover, whatever you need — you can help keep the Happy Daily going at no extra cost by using Brian’s link at BrianKilby.com/Amazon. And find the show on Facebook at facebook.com/HappyDayinWilkes so you don’t miss a thing. Got something on your mind? Leave a letter in Brian’s mailbox. Hope y’all have a happy day.

Well, it’s the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and Brian’s got a full one for you. He kicks things off fresh off the long weekend — everybody at the house came out fine, which Brian notes is its own accomplishment — and gets right into the news.

The big local stories this week include the brand-new Smoot Park pool opening right on schedule for Memorial Day weekend, a six-million-dollar rebuild featuring a new slide and splash pad. Brian notes it is currently raining at 77 degrees, but trusts the pool will be there when things clear up. He also covers the proposed Wilkes County 2026–27 budget, which holds the property tax rate flat but cuts funding to nonprofits and county departments — including, Brian points out, the WTA, which was the only way his mama had to get around after his daddy passed. He’s asking folks to speak up on that one. The 2026 Wilkes County Hall of Fame class is also in — eight inductees from over 70 nominees — and Brian makes a straightforward, earnest case that he himself belongs in next year’s class. Rounding out the news: the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 is coming to North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19th, the first points race at the track in thirty years, and Brian ranks it among the two or three things in his lifetime that have genuinely shaken Wilkes County to its core.

The Community Voice segment features a post from Cogliostro raising the possibility that people of faith might be able to communicate with all animals of all species. Brian takes this seriously, works through the evidence with Jack the dog, references Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and ultimately concludes that while he’s a man of faith, the part that really would’ve helped is back in his goose control days — he could’ve saved a real lot of money on air horns and remote control boats.

If you want to help keep the Happy Daily going, shop your everyday household goods — toilet paper, toothpaste, fishing line, Aspercream, whatever you need — through the Amazon link at BrianKilby.com/Amazon. Costs you nothing extra, and Amazon sends a little something back this way. Like the Facebook page at facebook.com/HappyDayinWilkes so you don’t miss an episode. And if something’s on your mind, you know where Brian’s mailbox is.

Hope y’all have a happy day.

Happy Memorial Day from the Happy Daily. Brian takes a moment to honor the folks who gave everything so the rest of us could argue on GoWilkes.com — and he means that with total sincerity. Then it’s on to the weather, which is giving Wilkes County a 45% chance of rain today and has declined to clarify further. The NC Supreme Court ruled Friday that Duke Energy’s rate hike stands — and yes, western NC pays more than eastern NC for the exact same electricity coming through the exact same lines. Brian also has an electric car and some thoughts about that. And the Community Voice checks in with a post about tomatoes that is brief, accurate, and devastating.

Well hey y’all, it’s the Happy Daily. Brian’s got some things to get off his chest today — mainly about what it costs to eat in Wilkes County right now, and how that situation ain’t right.

We kick things off with your North Wilkesboro forecast (98% chance of rain, which ain’t a chance, that’s just rain), a Memorial Day thank-you to our veterans, and a quick rundown of local news — including Wilkes County’s proposed budget cuts, a shrinking county fund balance, a town consultant charged with embezzlement over in Pilot Mountain, and some good news from the East Wilkes Cardinals in the 2A playoffs.

Then Brian gets into the real topic of the day: the high cost of everything. Chicken Q. Eggs. Groceries. Jim’s Quality Meats closing their doors. That grocery bag that used to hold fifteen dollars of food and now holds sixty dollars of food — and the bag ain’t bigger. Brian can’t quite put his finger on why it’s all so expensive, but he knows it ain’t right, and he’s going to tell you about it at some length.

He loves you. Kim loves you. Jack loves you. Hope y’all have a happy day.

Merry Christmas! The title pretty much says everything, so, uh, yeah.

Here’s the next track from my new Christmas album! You’ve heard of Rudolph, but have you ever heard of Randolph? Of course not, Randolph was excluded from the Christmas canon when Robert May created the story of Rudolph based on the life of Randolph for Montgomery Ward. Montgomery Ward got Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Wilkes County had the real deal in Randolph, but nobody remembers him. Well, we do, and we won’t ever forget what he did to save Christmas.

I’m back with my new Christmas album, Christmas Ain’t Dead! Here’s my third single from the new album, it’s the title track! It’s Christmas ain’t Dead! Download the podcast version, or download the whole album here!

Praise the Lord! I’m back with my new Christmas album, Christmas Ain’t Dead! Here’s my second single from the new album, A Tombstone Christmas! I always wondered what Christmas would be like in my favorite movie, and now I know! I wrote the song! Download the podcast version, or download the whole album here!

No internet, who dis?