Hope you have a good day.

Progressing with the move. We've now brought two trailers full of goods to the new location in Florida. The goods are offloaded. We are tending to "stuff" here for a few days - then it's do it all over again. But - now with more experience under our belts.

Everyone who sees the property seems to love it. We made the choice to come down a good bit in our profile. Didn't need the more fancy pants location that our Maryland home had become. Seems everybody wants to be in Maryland if the last 50 years of building and congestion is indication. Hope that manic desire holds when we sell there.

We have found the general mood of the property to just be "healing". I find I can breathe here. The building plan is progressing. Recall that there are quite a few operations (each with it's own set of tools) to the things I might build. The major segments of the builds don't mix. The whole "fire and wood" thing means the forging/welding/woodworking doesn't go well together. The hot salt bluing and precision machine tools doesn't mix. I've not had room to properly seperate the shops in Md. Huge amounts of time have been devoted to "making do" with too little space. Setting up and staging for some operations, only to have to tear down those tools and set ups later - to regain room to work on other phases. So; I'll have floor space here. Will take ..... absolutely NO GETTING USED TO!!! hahahahah. I might just run around thru the isles on roller blades for the first week or so ....

Yes, it's hot. However thus far; during all of our trips down here, it's been hotter back in Maryland then down here. And, when people come up from the coast to help us for a day. Or when my Son's family come up for the weekend ... they all comment that the humidity HERE, seems to be FAR LESS then at the coast ... or other regions even an hour from here. I think it's just a really nice area. Not a fancy area. There is plenty of evidence of people having been hurt badly, by this economy. But - even those exact people give you a courteous nod, a greeting, a solid look in your eye ... and are respectful. It's such a vastly different thing from Maryland that it just stops me cold, several times a day. I knew our area in Maryland had grown more and more rude and self absorbed over the last decade especially. But; you grow used it gradually. It's a refreshing shock to see it isn't that way everywhere.

I hope, once I get things back in operation, some of the life returns to our family of people here. This is a stressful time. So much to do. I appreciate the encouragement quite a few of you have shown. As you've seen, the majority of folks have simply left, or gone dead silent. I was looking as some of the videos Don found with his new computer. Looking thru them, I was recalling the unique qualities of the guns that attracted so many people in the first place. All of those qualities still remain in those same guns. It can't all be new and fresh again every month. When the guns sit in their cabinets, then it's only the visual part that is allowed to speak. And that's only if you are standing in front of the cabinet. Nothing I can do about it. If they aren't being used, and shared ... then it seems they cease to exist. And there's a mass exodus here. If I can't push those unique qualities across this screen every day .... mostly things just grind to a stop.

I can, and have been sharing this phase of the business and my life at this time. When you read any book on the work of a particular artist ... you are gonna find chapters on their life, and what they went through to make the things they made. They can't be "whipping the drape" off that newly finished marble statue every week. So; this is one of those "other" chapters. "Eeewwwwwhhhhuuuuuu" ... But one that will make possible the completion of all the congestion of projects that have log jammed the shop in Maryland. Jerry always referred to it as a "single file" shop. And, that's a single file with your hips and shoulders turned sideways. And, it was much like those interstates where you have to go ten miles to find an exit to turn around. A couple of people in there are hard pressed to find a place to get out of each other's way enough to pass. Fun to make long guns in such an environment. But - I have - for some time now. This will be .... better.

Have a good day. God Bless,
Gary

BTW ... guess you can see I have internet here. Seems blazing fast. Great. E-mail is still jacked up. My ISP refuses to consider that it's on their end. Once again, "I" seem to be the problem. They admit they changed things .... at the same time mine stopped working .... but it's on my end. Oh ... and "I" was the ONLY one they had using an iMac for many years. And "I" was the ONLY one using Windows Mail for years. Poor Bill Gates. But - this is one of those things I can't fashion out of billet.

I remember the old website and this is much better by far. It is the old site that attracted my attention. I watched all the videos you offered and sought out other makers including one we will not mention, and tobe honest none came close to what you achieve in my opinion. It is not just the power, it all aspects combined together that shows true artwork and original thought and conception. How many people can create functional work from their personal thoughts and make it reality. Very few........

to see light and be able to breathe is in its self a gift , i do hope the move will help with many things both body and soul.not to mention busines too.