Full-time retirement just doesn't suit Walter McGrary. At 79, he has tried it, more than once, in fact.

"I retired and bought a place on Antioch Church Road, on a golf course. I thought I would golf  ...  Maybe I'll golf eventually."

Instead of golfing or goofing off, McGrary can be found selling foot-long hot dogs. He sells them three to four days a week from his Highway 321 roadside spot, just north of the Fort Loudoun Dam bridge. A blue umbrella shades his stand from the hottest sun rays.

"I've just always been busy," says McGrary, who hails from New York and who has owned and operated more businesses than the average Joe in his lifetime.

His business pursuits have included a delicatessen and bar on New York's Long Island, a 100-acre farm in upstate New York and a garden center.

He's done a lot in his life. He is happy to tell strangers about his diverse activities.

"I drove concrete trucks and school buses," he says. "Then I heard about Florida. I bought a hot dog stand and said I was going to go sell hot dogs. My wife said I was crazy."

The McGrarys relocated to Florida, and bought a home there. But, when he could not obtain a permit to sell his hot dogs, he decided to try Tennessee.  

He felt the Loudon County area would be an ideal place to sell hot dogs in summertime, and he could return to Florida in winter.

As it happened, Loudon County had a few issues with his planned pursuit as well.

Last year, the county forced McGrary to make improvements to the one-acre lot he bought on the highway. The lot offered no place to safely pull off the road.

Since returning to Tennessee in April, he has been trying to work on the parking area, and has plans for additional improvements, but his efforts have been hampered by rain and the onset bridge work. However, he has obtained his health department certification and necessary permits. He's back to selling hot dogs again.

McGrary says he enjoys what he does so much because it places him in contact with so many people. Outgoing and talkative, he enjoys greeting customers and finding out a little about their lives.

He likes to leave people with smiles on their faces, and satisfied bellies.

"When I was younger, I was a drummer and a lead singer in a band for 30 years. I would sing at veterans' clubs. I was singing Sinatra and Tony Bennett - I had a great band job. On Saturdays we would sing at the club, and Sundays we sang at weddings. I was good. I was very good. When I sang, people stopped and listened."

He still tries to stop folks in their tracks, and entice them to listen.

 "Now, I try to be the best hot dog man. I make hot dogs that are good, fresh and large, so it is good value for your money.  I sell about 20-25 hot dogs a day. One day, I had 39 hot dogs sold. I don't know where they come from, but people were coming and buying four, five or six."

Those kinds of days are rewarding to McGrary.

Beats goofing off any day.