It's taken a while to get this out, but I thought everyone should know that I had a brief stay at Carolina's Medical Center from 4/1/18 to 4/6/18.  I had what is known as a "Mallory-Weiss" tear.  Where my esophagus meets my stomach, I ripped a hole through an artery, and with each beat of my heart, blood was pumping into my stomach.  My wife called 9-1-1 and I took an ambulance ride to our local hospital (Valdese Hospital).  A couple of blood transfusions later, I took a ride to Frye Regional Medical Center, also by ambulance.  We credit both God and Doctor Nikrooz (at Frye) with saving my life by doing what other doctors said was impossible, due to the location of the tear.  She stapled the tear shut and got me stable enough to travel (again by ambulance) to Carolina's Medical Center in Charlotte, where the doctors there did the rest.  They patched me up, and later that week, I was able to go home.  Boy, there's no place like home...Dorothy had that one right.  After six weeks of "soft" foods, so my stomach can heal, I will be heading back to Charlotte in order to have an Upper GI and figure out what's going on.  We have to figure out why the bottom of my esophagus clamped down on a wonderful ribeye that I was eating at the time, that eventually caused the tear.

     Thank you for all the prayers and concerns that I felt and heard during that week.  I really do appreciate them.  Unfortunately, I missed the Charlotte Auto Fair (even though I was only a few miles down the street!) but Tim and Lori went, and I heard they had a GREAT Friday and a WET Saturday.  Oh well...that's Charlotte in the Spring.  Our next shows are this weekend -- Tim and Tasha will be in Raleigh at the Good Guys show, and Lori will be at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Summit Racing Atlanta Motorama.  Please stop by and see us at our booth (Atlanta) and trailer (Raleigh).

~Kevin

P.S.  I'm on a show hiatus, in order to recover until the Fall.  Lori will be doing some of the blogging and posting for me in the meantime, so keep looking for updates!

With March coming in like a lion (Wow, what weather we’re having!!) we hope it goes out like a lamb. On the subject of our show schedule, however, it goes out like a lion!  You can find Tim and I at Myrtle Beach this week for the “Run to the Sun” show.  We DO get a break over Easter, then it’s Auto Fair in Charlotte, Rod Run in Pigeon Forge, Good Guys in Raleigh and Atlanta Motorama at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  It doesn’t slow down.  The Caddy came with me to Myrtle Beach, and the top was supposed to be down, but the last minute snow changed those plans.  Currently, it is 55 degrees and blowing 20 mph.  With all that being said, we just might be  “The Green Machine” for St Paddy’s Day in the Caddy. 

Keep an eye on and follow our Social Media platforms: Facebook (Farris Insurance Agency), Twitter (@FarrisInsAgency) and Instagram (@FarrisInsAgency).  When we're at shows, we try to post lots of photos and other information to keep you up to date on what's going on.  Wer also like to keep it simple, so one of our favorite hashtags that we use is  #ClassicCarsHotRods.  

Look for us a at show near you!

​~Kevin

WOW!  What a whirlwind of events since my visit to Pigeon Forge for the Rod Run.  I saw a lot of wonderful cars and trucks, rekindled acquaintances with lots of folks, and met some new ones.  I hope to see all of you in the next couple of weeks at a show nearby.

On a personal note, my wife and I had an unscheduled trip to the hospital on Tuesday, April 11th.  That's when doctors discovered that the space between two stents that I had 4 years and 1 day earlier, had closed up.   A day and a procedure later, I was the recipient of another stent.  This week's checkup shows that I’m healing according to schedule.  I have another follow up in two weeks. My word to the wise is, IF IT HURTS, GO GET IT CHECKED OUT!  This time, I was lucky; I didn’t have any damage to my heart because I went as soon as the pain began.  Waiting until later…a different outcome?

Thanks,

Kevin

Well, here I am, loading up the trailer for Pigeon Forge.  Got into Pigeon around 1:30 PM and checked into the Le Conte Center around 2:00.  The show starts tomorrow at 8:00 AM for vendors and 9:00 AM for spectators.  Wishing everyone who is traveling, safe travels.  See you tomorrow at the show!

~Kevin

I had a blast at the Sevierville Convention Center this past weekend.  Byron and Ronnie put on a GREAT show!  I met people from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana who all braved the cold and rain to come out to the 40th Anniversary of the "Cruisin' the Smokies" Corvette Expo.  The Corvette Club, "Vettes of the Smokies" had a great turnout.  Also, Congratulations go out to "Vettes of the Smokies" member Gary Watson, who was chosen as the Farris Insurance "Ladies Choice Award" winner!  His 1965 Corvette was FABULOUS!  See you guys again next year!

​~Lori

​All I can say about the Run to the Sun show is WOW.  It’s taken 2 whole days to recuperate.  I talked to a lot of our current insureds, and a lot more collectors.  As Jimmy B. says, "The weather is here,  I wish you were beautiful.”  Yes, the weather was there; clear and cold.  The automobiles were beautiful.  The car folks came out in the thousands!! I saw the number 3,000 on a dash plaque.  Wow.  I want to says thanks to everyone who came by and talked with us.  A lot of positive comments about our collector car companies and the fine work they do in protecting our “babies”, our works in progress and our finished show pieces.  I’m resting up for a couple of days before we travel to Charlotte and Pigeon Forge the second weekend in April. Look for posts on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FarrisInsuranceAgency), Twitter (@FarrisInsAgency) and Instagram (@FarrisInsAgency).  Until then...

​Kevin

As you can see, we are finally here, set up and ready for the show!  It's still a little cold, but the sun is out, the people are friendly and we are GIVING AWAY A TV!  Be sure to stop by and drop your name in the box for a chance to win!  You have to find us though, the second photo is just a hint on how to get to where we are!  Until our next post, enjoy the show!

Okay, here we are, getting on the road to Myrtle Beach.  Run to the Sun or bust! We have good news and bad news.  The good news is that we have taken off successfully...and haven't forgotten anything...that we know of.  The bad news is that the Caddy didn't get to come along this time.  She needed new brakes and our mechanic is coming to the show.  Surprised?  You shouldn't be.  No shoes, no shirt, no service.  We were just out of time and luck for this show.  So, for the time being, it's "Cruisin' in the '07 Chevy Tahoe".  We'll keep you posted on what's going on in, hopefully SUNNY, South Carolina! Check in later!

​~Kevin

     Over the past few months, Kevin and I have tossed around the idea of putting together a website completely dedicated to our Classic Cars & Hot Rods division of the business.  Our hope is that we can keep you posted on what's going on with Farris Insurance and our travels across the state, the southeast and the country, as we visit car shows, cruise-ins and meet everyday folks who love their cars.  We will be posting pictures from our travels, so check out the gallery.  Each show we visit will be listed, so if you were there, hit the website up to see if your car made it!
​     We have also included a calendar of events, which will help you plan your year as you take the time to go to shows as well.  This is not an all-inclusive list; that would be impossible.  Instead, the calendar will tell you the shows that WE will attend.  If you are there, look us up, stop by the trailer (or tent, depending on the show) and say "Hi".  We love to see our customers when we are out and about.  If you're not currently a customer, hopefully we can win your business.
     As you browse the website, let us know what you think.  Leave us feedback.  What can we do better with the website?  What shows do we need to attend?  What's a hotbed of collector car people that we don't know about yet?  We would love to hear from you.  Before you leave the website, check out our "Contact Us" page and hit us up on social media.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  In 2017, we will be ramping up our presence there so look out for things to come.  Thanks again for visiting this site, and happy cruisin'!