Saturday Afternoon at the Gun Show

Older Daughter (the Appleseed instructor) is working at a gun show down the road, this weekend. Since there are far fewer demands on my time, as a newly-retired fella, I figured "What the hey!"

So I set off in Ye Olde SUV, and promptly received a text message from said daughter. That's nothing unusual, of course. She has an uncanny tendancy to begin texting me as soon as I'm behind the wheel. :)

I asked Siri to read the message to me, and then told her I'd like to reply to yon message. Whereupon the phone bricked.

(For those few who may not know, a bricked phone means one thing: your phone won't turn on in any way, shape or form, and there's nothing you can do to fix it. It is, for all intents and purposes, as useful as a brick.)  Don't blame me: I do not invent the slang ... I merely repeat it.

So I motored on, arriving shortly thereafter at the show. I had one of my Navy ballcaps on, and a challenge coin in my pocket, because ... hey, ya never know. So I approached the check-in table with wallet in hand, and the nice young lady glanced at the hat.

Please note, for purposes of this discussion, that the cap has a) the name of my ship, b) a picture of my ship, and c) my rank insignia on it.

So this chipper young lady asked, "Are you a veteran?"

Really?

Several answers flittered through my mind. "No, I just like wearing the cap" was among them, but not the only one. But I restrained myself, and admitted that yes, I am a veteran.  She said, "Someone else prepaid for the next veteran who came in, so welcome to the show!"

Coolness and groovitude. 

So after chatting with the Appleseed folks, I moved on the first vendor. He had a rack full of shooty goodness: M1A, M-1 Carbine, M14, M4, Barrett .50, in both wood and synthetic stocks. Prices were quite reasonable. But with my retirement so newly-minted, I chose to refrain.

Darn it!

So I wandered further, met another sailor (USS LaSalle during Desert Storm). We swapped a couple of quick stories, as I was in the same general part of the world nearly 20 years earlier, and moved on.

I didn't see much else which would convince me to part with the green stuff in my wallet, but enjoyed what I saw. There was a decent mix of both new and used firearms, parts, and other goodies. One fella had an 8' table covered with nothing but M1A Garand parts, hardware, stocks, and accessories including a one-piece cleaning tool. I very nearly grabbed that thing, but he wanted $30 for it, and that was a bit much for an upgrade to something I already have. 

Which reminds me: I need to fire the Garand. Starting to get the itch again. :)

There was a table of Marines in the corner by the snack bar, but they all looked considerably older than I, and deep in conversation. Last thing they needed was a young whippersnapper squid like me, nosing around. So I moved on, and came on home.


p.s. Plugging the iPhone into the computer managed to get it going again, so all is well.