Things to know about gun shows......... I have been a member of MWCA for over 25 years and this is what I know about them (MWCA)

#1 They do not make any money on parking, and can't set the price of parking.

#2 They do not make any money from food or drinks.

#3 They don't make a lot of money when they put on shows, the rent of the place is not cheap! they need to pay for clean-up, security, advertising, electric (sometimes), people that help run it and mail. I know that if they rent (let's say the River Center) it would be $4000 -$5000 just to rent it for the weekend.

#4 They need to have a place that will hold a lot of people at one time. I can remember years back when they would have the Fire Dpt. come and stop people from coming in... Were told that they were over the limit of the amout of people that could be in it at one time. And that makes it hard to find a place to put on a show.

#5 Not all places will allow a GUN SHOW.

#6 And you need to schedulel the show (or try) when other shows are not on. And the place you want may be rented..... Boat Show, RV's or what have you.

It's not EZ to put on a big gun show..... Think about it!

Points about the MWCA noted. I honor them for all the work they do. I wasn't suggesting they make any money off of parking.

I realize that the fairgrounds has become a busy place over the years, but I'm wondering if there are other venues where the shows could be staged.

I don't mind paying the MWCA admission fee. What I do mind is paying the city for the privilege of parking at an event they want people to come to. Ya know? I mean it's kinda like hunting over bait.

Funny thing about "Mail Call." R. Lee Ermey, or however he spells his name, is also a regular, normal actor, and I've seen him in roles where he doesn't yell at the camera. That gimmick of hollering everything all the time must get old after a while.

R Lee Ermey is one of those guys who draws two paychecks from most of his movies. You'll see him listed as actor and military advisor.

A friend who used to do lots of movie aviation work knows him well and says that he's a real nice guy in person, which was my impression at Knob Creek last fall when he was around all weekend for the shoot. I think he gets writers cramp from signing all the autographs. He was real friendly and low key in person and wasn't doing all the yelling and Ho Ra. He does lay it on pretty thick on camera though.

The same friend also knows Dale Dye, who draws the same two paychecks in his movies, and thinks he's an arrogant jerk.

I'm not sure if this will offend anyone or not, but there ya have the difference between "Officer" & "Enlisted". Dale Dye, was a Captain in the Army. He may have been an enlisted person before and worked his way up, I don't recall. R.LEE was retired as a Staff Sergeant and was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant honorarily. Dave, ever been around Marines?? They're "highly motivated and highly dedicated". Of course, some of the stuff R.Lee does on Mail Call is all an act. It goes back to when he was an actual Drill Instructor.

Yes, I've been around Marines. Salt of the earth. I'm a veteran of both the Air Force and the Navy.

As for the differences between officers and enlisted men, there are good guys and bad guys in both levels of rank. Mostly good.

And yes, I know it's an act. That's pretty much my point. I'm saying it must get old after awhile. I'm betting that along about now, R. Lee is wishing he hadn't started out with the hollering.

If I ever see him, I'll have to ask him that. I've known some very decent officers in my career as a Sailor.

Dave, am I to gather you were an Aviation type in both ??

Nope, I enlisted in the Air Force a million years ago, and after a year was discharged to go to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and left that after nine months because of lousy grades.

So, no, no flying in either service. I do have a license and fly now, though. And I regret letting my grades slide at USNA and bilging out, as the term is. If I had it all to do over again, I'd have stayed in, gone to flight school, got shot down over North Vietnam, and come back really fond of John Kerry.