The King

The man from Entertainment and Sports Programming Network on the shuttle bus in Seattle was right. The Richard Petty Museum in Randleman, North Carolina is an insightful and interesting place.

My wife and I made a half-day trip on Labor Day to the museum as we promised ourselves after meeting the man from Pennsylvania.

As one might expect, there were race cars from the past with the number 43 and lots of racing paraphernalia on display. I admired and respected all of it.

There was a lot more - just as the person from ESPN had indicated. If I had any doubts about the greatness of this popular American, those doubts were alleviated after examining the collection of artifacts in the museum. The video tape of Richard Petty's career was a reminder of the reason he's called the King. The recorded testimony of family, friends, politicians, and neighbors confirm what a great human-being Richard Petty has been all his life.

Autographed photos of United States presidents with Mr. Petty from President Carter to the current President Bush were on display. There are hundreds of guns, pocket watches, pocket knives, trophies and Mrs. Lynda Petty's doll collection on display. I suspect the guns, knives, and watches were gifts to Richard Petty from admiring fans.

The picture at the top shows some of the cars. The two below pictures are some of the showcases of collectibles and gold-plated guns.

After the museum tour, we drove to nearby Blue Mist BBQ (Est. 1948) where we ate a late lunch of chopped BBQ.

Return here on Monday, September 11 for an update.

Have a good day!