Nashville skyline

This could cause some problems with our scheduling.

We left North Carolina around 2 PM- right on schedule.

We had dinner in Nashville, TN with the Thomas Wilson Group. Wonderful restaurant- www.jimmykellys.com I highly recommend it. Todd, Cherie and Cindy were kind enough to give us a couple flowers to mount in the bug. Thanks.

Another binder

Ed Jr, Billy and Patti Timmermann met us at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC.

We were fortunate enough to sit at the table with the TV antenna.

Christine and Diane met us at the Country Kitchen for a good home cooked meal.

B&H gives us our first binder of the trip. Thank You!!!

B&H Insurance

B&H meets us at Starbucks in Winston-Salem.

Canal Culinary Review

From the moment we pulled up to the County Kitchen fine dining establishment just outside of Asheville, NC and spotted the fantastic lawn decorations (John Love sitting on a ceramic cow) we knew this was just the place for us. Good thing John was sitting on the cow and not the VW because his shirt matched the car perfectly! He would have blended right in. The County Kitchen was a quaint, cluttered, and um……….interesting……….. establishment that didn’t quite know what to do with the likes of us initially, however, it didn’t take long for us to feel right at home.
And now for our anticipated culinary review:
Décor: Grandma’s kitchen meets community garage sale
Service: "Grandma and Grandpa, please don’t fight! Christine only wanted to know what was on her salad."
Clientele: Darryl, Darryl and his other brother Darryl
Food: Good Southern home cooking. Had to be vigilant of bones in the pinto beans, and the cornbread……well, get the Texas toast if you choose to visit. Aside from that and a little salt, everything was great – especially the company!!!! (Oh, and yes Diane, the bones were from the pork in the beans – DUH!!)

Thanks John and Eric for the great culinary experience! But most of all, thanks for including us in your journey – we appreciate all you do!!
Safe travels,
Christine Posner and Diane Elftmann

IT WAS JUST A PAIR OF SUNGLASSES

For the last twenty years I have heard that statement over and over again. When I was a much less experienced and much younger insurance man, I went to an insurance convention. Now the convention was not all work and no play! One afternoon I played in a golf outing. I was paired up in a cart with a fellow that I had never met. His name was John Love. I had been told that he was a pretty good golfer and I welcomed the challenge. After playing several holes, I was really getting tired. It really wears a person out when he has to carry dead weight around i.e. John Love. After putting out on one hole I walked back to the golf cart. John was already seated when I slid onto my seat. Something was missing! I could not find my sunglasses. It was bright sunny day and I needed protection for my sensitive blue eyes. Us low handicappers play with sunglasses until we get to the green, then we take them off to line up our putts and hole out. Now my day was ruined. The bright sun made my eyes water and I could not concentrate on my game. Well, John stood up to help me find the missing item. He looked at me and asked if I was crying. I told him NO and explained about my blue eyes. He laughed! I then looked down in his seat and saw an awful sight. There, mashed flat by John's big butt, were the remains of my eye protections. John continued to laugh and through the laughter he uttered his poignant statement "IT WAS JUST A PAIR OF SUNGLASSES."
Well my spot on game fell apart and if my memory serves me correctly, John may have beat me by a stroke or two. He rehashed the story at the club house and added insult to injury by saying he had smashed a cheap pair of RiteAid glasses. He has never acknowledged that he sat on my Ray-Bans.
Two decades have passed and I still hear him tell the story to anyone that will listen. I guess John figured that he would really get the final laugh when my son, Brian, graduated from high school. Would you like to guess what John gave Brian as a graduation gift?
Yep, a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses!!
By Sandy Jackson President, Agents Insurance Market Richmond Va.

Jim Spencer supports Bugginforbusiness

John Black supports BugginforBusiness

Employees Support

Employees Beverly Douglas,Toni Fogleman, Sandra Moore enjoy a lunch of Hot dogs,fries and Iced Tea from Zacks ,a family owned business in the heart of Burlington NC.

Employees Support

Employees Tena Clark and Christy Weir enjoy lunch at Zacks to support the Buggin for Business Journey

Send off Lunch at Zacks

Tuesday @ Zack's As a prelude to the "Bugging" tour, seven employees, Beverly Douglas, Tena Clark, Sandra Moore, Christy Weir, Toni Fogleman, Jim Spencer and John Black rushed down to Zack's Hot Dogs in downtown Burlington (the starting point of the "Bugging " tour) to have a send off meal in Eric and John's honor. The opportunity to eat @ Zack's always brings a flood of great old memories. The old Zack's building,long since gone, hot dogs after school, grabbing a bag of dogs to take back to college (which somehow never made it past the county line). It's the one place that anyone who has strayed from Burlington for more than a month will go to on their return to Burlington. Its uncanny, many (my brother for example) actually stop there first before going back to their childhood home. From governor's to the man or woman about town you can not drive past Burlington without a quick stop for the best dog in the south. As you can see the only way to overcome a Zackattack is to surrender. John and Eric have a safe journey and tell Maggie we miss her.

B & H Insurance Services - Twenty Years to Find Humor

It has been twenty years since I talked to Dub Love about getting in the insurance business and having my own agency. Having known Dub for some time prior to this, he did not hesitate to help. For this, I will always (at least most of the time) be thankful.

Dub knew I would need help and said Joe Simnor could handle that task. I can tell you for sure Dub knew what he was doing. Joe was a great insurance individual, and excellent teacher and became a good friend to all of us at B & H.

I knew I had a lot to learn and Joe was always there to steer me in the right direction. After a while I became to appreciate his patience and understanding. When I had a problem, I could always turn to Joe for help. I will never forget the time early on when we lost the largest account we had, an account that represented over fifty per cent of our book of business. On the way back to the office I pulled over to the side of the road thinking we were not going to make it in this business. So, I called Joe and began to unload on him.

It was that conversation on the side of the road that has helped me many times over the past twenty years. When Joe first began to laugh, I did not share any of his humor. I am thankful today that I can share some of the humor Joe must have had at that time.
By: Harry Grubbs

Supporters meet at Zacks for Breakfast before John and Eric leave on their journey.

Pictured left to right: Larue sox,Tommy Sox,Eric Hicks,Chris Huneycutt (Transure Ins.),John Love,Bob Gunn (Transure Ins.)

Breakfast Before "Buggin for Business" starts

Supporters meet at Zacks for Breakfast before wishing John and Eric a fond so long as they journey across the country.
Pictured left to right : Hamilton Baird, Larue Sox,Tommy Sox

Transure comes to BugginforBusiness Sendoff

Transure comes to wish John and Eric a safe journey as they leave from Zacks this morning.
Pictured Left to right : Bob Gunn,Zack Touloupas,John Love,Eric Hicks,Chris Huneycutt

Birds Bless the BugginforBusiness Event

As you can see Birds have blessed the new VW Bug before the adventure starts.

Buggin for Business Sendoff

The bugginforbusiness started today at 6:45am with a breakfast at Zacks a fond so long and safe journey to John and Eric.

Timmerman Story

Ed Timmermann was a great lover of ketchup....but not just any ketchup. Ed was born and raised in Pittsburg, PA and was fanatically loyal to his Heinz ketchup. If it wasn't Heinz ketchup, it belonged in the trash. On his many trips to London he would carry a bottle of his favorite ketchup with him and should anyone dare to ask why, he would turn the bottle around to show exactly WHERE it had been made and bottled! If a restuarant dared to keep the Heinz bottles and fill them with inferior ketchup, not only would he immediately notice the difference, he would take the manager aside and patiently explain why this was a complete disgrace to everything culinary.
The story that stands out in our minds is a dinner we had with the folks at Carolina Insurance Service at the Steak and Ale in Winston-Salem. As we ate our meal, we all joked with Ed because he annoited even the finest steak with ketchup. For dessert Ed ordered a lovely piece of cheesecake. Karen Giles ,unable to resist, dared Ed to put ketchup on it and eat every last bite. Being the trooper that he was, he ate every bite with gusto as we all watched in disbelief. Later he told us that it was the worst thing he had ever eaten but he wasn't going to let anyone know!submitted by Ed Timmerman Jr.