Waddison
member
In the greater metro Phoenix area, a "Crossroads of the West" gunshow is on. I will probably go to peddle something or hope to find a treasure. Possibly create new memories.
I posted early in July about the loss of my best friend and the sadness attending a gunshow shortly after his passing brought with it. We had been nearly as close as I am to my brother. His friendship has given me wonderful memories of comaraderie, knowledge sharing and wonderful belly laughs!
I want to read are YOUR best Gunshow Laughs! I'll start of with one of my own which, of course, is with Russell...
Now remember, Russ was wheelchair bound due to the ravages of MS.
This particular day I was pushing him in his wheelchair, because his powered scooter/chair was in the repair shop and he did not have the strength to wheel himself by all the tables. As usual, things filled up pretty fast. But, for the most part, that's ok because Russ was always slow and methodical. He was looking for obscure, particular things (usually small, antique reloading tools) and was convinced he would find them in a faded dirty box on the table he DIDN'T look over thoroughly. After an hour or so, I started getting bored. I also began handing out dirty looks to the people that noticed they were in his path but refused to step aside enough to allow passage of his chair. One of these was a mid-to-late 30's-ish fellow, well over 6' tall and probably in the 250lb to 270 lb neighborhood. He looked at Russ then at me pushing Russ, then proceeded to look the other way while leaning to his side and keeping one foot extended in the edge of our path. This was NOT a smart thing for him to do. I was impatient, for one thing and he was wearing sandals for another. So, I proceded to push Russel's chair while 'oblivious' to this fellows left foot. A sudden gasp! and an "AaaaaahhhhhHHHHHH!!!" clued me in that I had been quite successful! He turned quite quickly as though he wanted a confrontation, but I kept my face bland and pretended to not have noticed having clipped the edge of his little toe with the large wheel of Russ's chair. He scowelled and said nothing, but the pain was very plain on his face. That HAD to hurt!
When we were a few tables down the line, Russ looked at me over his shoulder and from under the bill of his Coast Guard Veteran ball cap: "You ran over his toe on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course. What's the rude SOB going to do? Beat the crap out of the old, short, bald assistant of a crippled, helpless Coast Guard Vet? I'll bet he moves for the next guy in a wheelchair!"
He kidded me about that one for years!
And it still warms my heart, too.
Waddison
I posted early in July about the loss of my best friend and the sadness attending a gunshow shortly after his passing brought with it. We had been nearly as close as I am to my brother. His friendship has given me wonderful memories of comaraderie, knowledge sharing and wonderful belly laughs!
I want to read are YOUR best Gunshow Laughs! I'll start of with one of my own which, of course, is with Russell...
Now remember, Russ was wheelchair bound due to the ravages of MS.
This particular day I was pushing him in his wheelchair, because his powered scooter/chair was in the repair shop and he did not have the strength to wheel himself by all the tables. As usual, things filled up pretty fast. But, for the most part, that's ok because Russ was always slow and methodical. He was looking for obscure, particular things (usually small, antique reloading tools) and was convinced he would find them in a faded dirty box on the table he DIDN'T look over thoroughly. After an hour or so, I started getting bored. I also began handing out dirty looks to the people that noticed they were in his path but refused to step aside enough to allow passage of his chair. One of these was a mid-to-late 30's-ish fellow, well over 6' tall and probably in the 250lb to 270 lb neighborhood. He looked at Russ then at me pushing Russ, then proceeded to look the other way while leaning to his side and keeping one foot extended in the edge of our path. This was NOT a smart thing for him to do. I was impatient, for one thing and he was wearing sandals for another. So, I proceded to push Russel's chair while 'oblivious' to this fellows left foot. A sudden gasp! and an "AaaaaahhhhhHHHHHH!!!" clued me in that I had been quite successful! He turned quite quickly as though he wanted a confrontation, but I kept my face bland and pretended to not have noticed having clipped the edge of his little toe with the large wheel of Russ's chair. He scowelled and said nothing, but the pain was very plain on his face. That HAD to hurt!
When we were a few tables down the line, Russ looked at me over his shoulder and from under the bill of his Coast Guard Veteran ball cap: "You ran over his toe on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course. What's the rude SOB going to do? Beat the crap out of the old, short, bald assistant of a crippled, helpless Coast Guard Vet? I'll bet he moves for the next guy in a wheelchair!"
He kidded me about that one for years!
And it still warms my heart, too.
Waddison
Last edited:
