Cade's Cove Pictures

I recently hiked on the Appalachian Trail up near Gregory’s Bald which is just north of the famous Cade’s Cove in the Great Smokey National Park. These are some of my photographs that are not included in my first poetry/photography book, which will be a series of two.

A potential friendship

I remember coming into the Mountain High store located at the Summit before my trip to South America. My father was buying me a round of goodies for the trip to stay warm because their winter is after all our summer. I bought a scarf, a snow cap, some type of warm liner for underneath my clothes, and another long sleeve shirt that served to keep me warn. What was nice was all the winter gear was on sale because our summer of one hundred degrees was just about to start. I think my uncle and my father even bought shoes they said they needed that same afternoon, even though in reality they didn’t need anything. What I liked about Mountain High is the people were human. There were no fake mustaches about the folks that worked in this store. Even though my interaction with the owner has been limited, I have noticed the same genuineness in listening to me during the busiest week of the year. You know someone cares when they take time to hear a little bit of your story, even when there is so much going on. I would guess that the employees are sincere and honest because their leader is the same….enthusiastic, real, truthful, and just generally a good person. Please understand I am just some random writer that writes what I see. If I thought badly about a company, I would bluntly say that with no reservations, but I can honestly say this because I mean it. I think Mountain High Outfitters has some of the best customer service associates of any of the outdoors stores in the south. I do not have to write a blog entry that sucks up to my potential boss because again I write what I observe. I write truth. I write like a journalist but with more meaning and purpose in my overall message. This is a team I want to be a part of with my writing and my servant-like attitude. With the permission of the owner, I will keep you up-to-date on what may hopefully be a long journey of a just a good business friendship.

Home Sweet Home I Hope

So I have an informal interview with Ryan, the manager, and Chris, the owner this Monday. I am pretty excited about this considering I could be the official blogger or Mountain High Outfitters (MHO). I am in the process of trying to put together a four book proposal for Zondervan.....so much for aiming for the stars here. Pastor Chris Hodges is always telling me to try for higher heights. So here we go! I have found the environment at MHO to be friendly, comfortable, and family-oriented. Unlike most service industry jobs, the people at the store actually seem to be happy. So I take it since I am a team player and decent writer that I will be happy as well. Why would you not want to be a part of great customer service in the outdoors. Even more importantly, I have shared some of my big ideas with the staff, and they were just kind of like “Cool,” real chill accepting me for who I am. That friendly feeling has not always been present in the places I work. I told Ryan I would have a tie on for our “informal” get together, but he kind of smiled sarcastically saying that was not necessary. Again we are “a little more chill around here than that.” This is something I want my career and my writing to be a part of. Let's see if my little stunt for a miracle works here. You cannot blame me for knowing what I want, a blog with a great company. It sounds like a win-win here for both sides. Easy wins, easy wins.....I dig it! Do you? I'm excited. Are you excited? Let's just see what happens....praying for a great Monday......