John Devore:  

Nov 5, 2012 Here we are, nearing the end of the year (and the end of our season)... Alan Ayres stopped by to visit and share a couple of drinks over dinner... Great visit... I've talked to a few classmates, over the years, but Alan's the only one who's stopped by... surely, somebody from our class comes to Gatlinburg now and then for a vacation get-a-way... I know Howard's in Louisville, Jerry's in Fairfield Glade, and who else is close by??? come on down and say Hi... Hope to see you soon... however, if you're here in January, we'll be closed... we're heading down to the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) for a well deserved vacation... after all, 10:00 - 5:00 seven days a week is enough for anyone... Feb 5, 2012 Here it is, February, 2012. Hard to believe time has flown by quite so fast... damn, I used to think someone 70 years old was over the hill... now, I think it's just about the right place to be to start picking up speed and coasting into maturity... not too fast thought, being a kid is still fun now and then. A year ago, my partner and I (Linda is the best thing that ever happened to me), moved from the hot, dry desert of southern California, to the lush, green mountains of eastern Tennessee... we thought we wanted a great mountain view, so we rented a condo in Gatlinburg, with a perfect view of Mt. Laconte... it was a great view, and didn't bother us too much until the day we walked into the garage and confronted a 400 pound black bear who thought it would make a nice place to hang out... he finally decided he wasn't welcome and drifted back into the forest. We saw him again a half a dozen times, but he didn't come back into the garage... only to the door... In November, we purchased a new home in Sevierville, about 10 miles from our store in Gatlinburg. Oh, I forgot to mention, we have a store that caters to tourists at the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts village on Glades Road, on the 8 mile Artists & Craftsmen's loop... if you decide to come to the Great Smoky Mountains for a vacation, please stop by and say hello... We're also presented on channel 69 in the greater Gatlinburg area... check us out. Life here is certainly different than in southern California.. it's far more laid back here, and much quieter. There is no gang activity here, and consequently, no graffatti, which is a much greater relief than you might think... In california everything is covered in spray paint, and I do mean everything... buildings, stop signs, highway signs, cars, trucks, even police cars get their share of spray paint from gang-bangers... there are murders reported every day, and usually several shootings... no matter where you are, they are bound to be close by, because they occur everywhere... you almost have to live in a gated community, just to be safe. We had gotten somewhat caloused to all the gang activity going on, until we moved and di...Expand for more