09/21/2002 Entry: ""
Posted by Maynard @ 05:08 PM MST
Gun Shows and the People Who Mock Them
I went to the gun show today and was thoroughly entertained. Aside from the typical collection of guns, ammo, reloading supplies, and the like, there were numerous others there, from coin dealers to doll and American Indian crafts dealers. But by far the most amusing thing was the attendees.
Most appeared to be calm, mild-mannered people, like me. Others, well, let's just say that you'll never catch me in a shirt that says "You say 'psycho' like its a bad thing". I also won't be wearing nose rings anytime soon. And no, I don't want a pamphlet on how the U.N. is trying to take over America. With shows like this all around the U.S., they don't have the firepower.
One coin collector seemed intent on telling me about his encounter with the U.S. Mint. He called them up one day, asking them why they sold rolls of 25 Sacagawea dollars for $35.50 + S&H on their website. The reply was "because we can ". Certainly rude, but the guy was entertaining nonetheless. Fortunately I got out of that because of a wrong number call to my cell phone.
I didn't see any Illinois Nazis, but the Nazi (Memorabilia) Collectors were there. One guy was selling WW2 Coal-Scuttle helmets, including one with what appeared to be three .30 caliber bullet holes in it. Kinda weird. Another had for sale an award to some Nazi soldier that was supposedly signed by Hitler himself. Why anyone would want to own this stuff is beyond me.
Personally, I looked for some Indian head pennies (I bought 9) and some 27th Fighter Squadron patches (my grandfather's unit in WW2, but I didn't find any). I haven't been shooting in a while, so I didn't get any ammo, and I didn't see the shotgun I was looking for (Remington 870 12 gauge). Besides, it wasn't in my budget, so I'll have to wait until December for that.
