Gun Show/Blog Meet…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Met up with Andy, Murphy, and Proud Hillbilly this morning at Dulles for the “Nation’s Gun Show”.  We wandered the aisles, and noted (as usual), different (high) prices especially on pistols depending on which table one walked by.   Also as usual, there were the ‘overpriced’ collectibles, pistols, rifles, shottys, pieces/parts; AR-15 uppers/lowers (both stripped and complete) and multiple tables selling Magpul accessories, ammo (some decent, some overpriced).  Hillbilly is going to learn how to reload, so she bought the basics to start, and some pieces/parts for the loader she has.  She was also “looking” for a lever gun, but no joy today.

Andy was looking for AR pieces, and found ‘some’ of what he needed, and ended up with something else too (but that’s HIS story to tell).  Murph was just looking like I was, and ironically, there was a S&W Model 76 (which he’d blogged about a couple of days ago).  I walked by a table of S&W pistols, with a couple of Colts off in the corner, and kinda glanced at them. The Python was ‘high’, the Diamondback I ‘thought’ was missing a digit on the price.  So we wandered aisles, and I wandered back by that one table (for once I remembered WHERE the table was), and sure enough, the pistol was still there, and apparently the tag was NOT missing a digit.  So I jumped on it… 🙂

Turns out he also had the original box, AND it’s a 1975 pistol!

Original box and papers


Probably 98% gun, target sights

No muzzle wear, no holster wear, shot very little

Grips are a ‘tad’ loose, but not unusual


Timing and lock up are dead on, and this one is in MUCH better shape than my beat up shooter… But it will get shot too!

After a bit, we adjourned to Hooter’s for wings and things and lunch.  Hillbilly was not exactly happy, since ‘we’ had something to look at and she didn’t, but what the heck… Sorry Lady! 🙂

Conversation was, as always, varied and swung wildly between subjects!  Sadly the day ended early, as all of us had ‘other’ things that we needed to complete this afternoon, but as always it was good to see folks, and get a bit of down time.

Good Idea!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013
I like this idea…

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com



Of course all the left wing loonies will have the kids killing each other and all the adults… Sigh…


Screwem… Too bad more ranges don’t/won’t do this on a regular basis!!!

The "Old" Country…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
One of the sidelights of the Italy trip was a chance to have dinner with an old friend who is on ‘assignment’ to Italy for a couple of years with his company.  I met with he and his wife at a little pizzaria (like they don’t have any of those…) and she is just bubbling with happiness.  I asked what was going on, and her hubby rolled his eyes, so I knew I was in trouble…LOL

She proceeded to tell me she was trying to track down family, and had found out her Grandmother had emigrated from Yugoslovia (now Slovenia) around the turn of the last century, just prior to WWI.

So she had decided they were going to go on ‘vacation’ and see what the place was like. She had managed to find her Grandmother’s original address in this little town/village, and on a lark wrote a letter to that address…

Low and behold, two weeks later she’d gotten an email from the town, from a person with the same last name as her gran, and saying he was her cousin twice removed!

She and hubby were invited to come visit, etc…

And that morning had gotten a letter from her Grandmother’s former address, again a relative who still lived there, and was the Chief of Police for the town/village.  The family still owns the house, and they are invited to stay there, and there would be a party for the “lost” (e.g. American) part of the family!!!

So she’s getting to really dig into her family’s history, and meet relatives she didn’t know she had, and how she’s frantically trying to learn a few phrases of Slovak, and… and… and…

And O.M.G, they leave in two weeks!

NOW I see why hubby was rolling his eyes! 🙂

I’m truly glad for them, as it’s not often today one gets chances like this; much less the ability to travel semi-freely to what was once behind the Iron Curtain.  I can’t help but wonder what her impressions will be…

And I can’t help but wonder how they will be received, considering the ‘curiosity’ many have about America.

Sheesh…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
What is it with my family and teeth??? 

Many moons ago, I got one knocked out and one chipped playing sports, oldest daughter got three knocked out in a fall, youngest daughter lost two playing sports, grandson already chipped one playing football.

AND…

Got a call from oldest daughter, and my 13 year old grandson managed to knock out his four front teeth while they were out in the boat… Crossing a wake from another boat, he slipped and hit the rail. 

I swear, ‘somebody’ doesn’t like us… Sigh…  And the Dentist says he’ll have to wait a month for the swelling and other damage to show itself before he decides how to ‘fix’ this…

Needless to say, grandson is NOT happy that he’s gotta walk around for a month with no teef, and sounding funny…

Poor kid!

Travels…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Picked this one up from Daddy Bear, who got it from NJT  and it’s pretty interesting…

White means I haven’t spent much time at all there, pink means I’ve gone there a time or two, orange means I’ve been there often enough to have a preferred restaurant, blue means I have enough time there to have people recognize me when I got to my favorite bar, and green means I’ve lived there or might as well have.

As you can tell, I DON’T do cold real well, and most of this travel is thanks to the military…

You can make your own here.  Jump in if you’re of a mind to! 🙂

Back in battery, kinda…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Home again from the latest trip, butt draggin…


I’m getting too old for these 18-19 hour days and multiple airports in multiple countries…


I will say security in Europe is ‘higher’ than the last trip, both in Italy and Germany.  Don’t know if it’s a bad case of nerves, or there are real issues out there we’re not hearing about…


I finally completed the ‘triple’ of Vesuvius, Pompeii and now Herculaneum (nee Ercolano), all three are distinctive, but significantly different.  We snuck out yesterday afternoon and hopped a train down to Herculaneum (1/2 hour South of Naples).  It was buried in 50-60 FEET of lava over the course of the Vesuvian eruption in 79AD, unlike Pompeii.  They’ve been digging there since 1709, so quite a few things have ‘disappeared’…

 This pic is looking down from the top of 
the lava flow into the town itself…

This is the mosaic in the pool in the men’s bath house

And the mosaic from the women’s bath house

This is one of the conservators working on cleaning the glass mosaic of Neptune and Aphrodite
Interestingly, ALL of the mosaics on the floors throughout were black and white ’tiles’, but many of the wall mosaics were made of glass…

The construction and many sections of plaster and paint have been ‘saved’ to a certain extent, but it’s all decaying as has been for now 400 years.  They are trying to save as much as they can, but sadly I think it’s a lost cause.  It is WELL worth seeing if you get to Italy, as the colors used are significantly different than those in Pompeii.  

This pic is from the top of the lava flow looking back at Vesuvius, and it’s well over a kilometer to the ocean from here, but back in the day, I would have been about 100 yards out in the water! 

I put some other pics up HERE if anybody is curious…

I’m off to bed…

Light posting/commenting…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Sorry folks, a ‘tad’ busy for a couple of days… But one to laugh (or wince) at…  A woman out shopping with her husband spots a pair of boots she loves.  The husband says: ”No chance love, they’re way too expensive”. Later on in bed, the wife is just falling asleep when the husband tries his luck  and places his hand on her hip.     She turns to him and says. ”I don’t think so, pal….  If you’re not prepared to shoe the horse then you sure as hell aren’t riding it” Based on wandering around Naples looking for a pizzeria tonight, you can’t throw a dead cat without hitting a church… And using a church as a reference just Does. Not. Work… After three wrong turns, four alleys, somebody’s private courtyard, we finally met up with the rest of the party… Go read the folks on the sidebar!!!

Changes in Latitude…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

For those who travel through Munich, some ‘new’ changes to the customs and immigration procedures if you’re flying United to Lufthansa connection… Come in to Terminal H (as always), but no longer clear C&I in H, you walk down to Terminal G, go past the security check (NOT through it), and you’ll see a new C&I set up there. Once through, turn left, go downstairs to the G gates, and no second round of security!!! 🙂 Yeah US!!! Munich was typical, cold/drizzly, Naples is typical warm, humid, but for a change NO garbage strike! My nose and sense of smell are VERY appreciative… For those from the Northeast, one of your ‘traditions’ has apparently percolated over to Italy, and that is the guy washing the windshield in traffic… LOL, the taxi driver was NOT appreciative, and I thought we were going to have to break up the fight! On another note, apparently the watch thieves are back at it, not only in Naples, but Rome, Florence and Venice, so don’t wear a good watch, or ANY watch if you don’t have to…

Points to ponder…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

1. The nicest thing about the future is . . .. That it always starts tomorrow. 


2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail. 


3.. If you don’t have a sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all. 


4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs. 


5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water. 


6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night? 


7. Business conventions are important. . .because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without. 


8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks? 


9. Scratch a cat . . . And you will have a permanent job. 


10. No one has more driving ambition than the teenage boy who wants to buy a car. 


11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity. 


12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 a..m. – like, it could be the right number. 


13. No one ever says “It’s only a game” when their team is winning. 


14. I’ve reached the age where ‘happy hour’ is a nap. 


15. Be careful about reading the fine print. . . . there’s no way you’re going to like it. 


16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket. 


17. Do you realize that, in about 40 years, we’ll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!) 


18. Money can’t buy happiness — but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Cadillac than in a Yugo. 


19. After 60, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you’re probably dead. 


20. Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind . . .. . And the ones that mind don’t matter. 


21. Life isn’t tied with a bow . .. . .. . .. . But it’s still a gift.