The People You Meet With Guns

[Scrounger]

I apologize if I posted this before but it is worth telling. Seven or eight months ago I sold my Marlin .444 on AuctionArms; the fellow who bought it lived in Las Vegas so a week or two later he drove out here and picked it up. As soon as that gun was gone, I wanted it back. I know some of you have had that feeling before. About a month later I called him and told him I regretted selling it and would be interested in buying it back if he ever decided to sell it. He understood what I meant and allowed as how he didn't have any immediate need for it, so if I wanted to trade him something else for it, he was agreeable. It was another 2 or 3 months before I kicked myself in the tail and drove over there (60 miles) to do our trade. I thought I had a pretty good idea what he wanted but maybe I misunderstood, because we couldn't reach a trading arrangement. Then he surprised the Hell out of me by telling me to go ahead and take the rifle home. He'd noted something I mentioned that I had at home and said he would drive out here when he could and we'd complete the trade. Yesterday he and his wife were out here and he selected a new in the box .30-06 Howa in trade. He did not ask for any difference but since I knew I had at least $50 more in the Marlin than the Howa, I insisted he take the money. Somehow the conversation got around to heaters and air conditioners and he surprised me again by promising to come out here next spring and service my air condition. Is there any other hobby field that has as many nice people in it as guns? I doubt it.

[rugerman1]

How cool izzat?:drinks:

[Buckshot]

.............Sometimes people just blow you away with stuff like that and it just makes you feel good about everyone. Of course some bozo doofus comes along real quick and screws up all the good vibes :-).

When my daughter and I first began building her '55 Ford pickup I had accumilated a stack of catalogs from companies dealing in the '53 - '56 Ford pickups. One of the larger ones was Mid Fifties Pickups who was based in Ohio, but I found out they had a distributor within 15 miles of me. His name was Bob Monanger and his business was called Classic 50's. He owned a really nice 4 bay shop and all they did was '50's style cars (mostley Ford pickups though), and shipped them all over the world.

Christian and I had been in there a couple times for some piddly stuff and Bob found out this pickup deal we were doing was for her, and she was right in there helping. I think that kind of impressed him. My wife and I had agreed beforehand that I had $8,000 to spend on the truck and we had opened a charge account just for that.

For a couple weeks I outlined what we were going to do and the progression of the work and which outside sources were doing what, etc & etc. I'd also made up a 2 page list of stuff we were going to get from Bob. Stuff like defroster ducts, heater valves, radiator, power brakes, oak floor bed kit, chrome tailight tubs, lenses with 'Blue Dots', and just on and on. It all came up to over 2 grand.

I went over one day and said I had a list of stuff I needed and for him to get out from under that wreak and lets get this stuff together :-). He took one look at the list and said no way. He said he got back Monday from a big classic car show at the Los Angeles fairgrounds and all his stuff was still in big boxes out there in the back of the shop. He said for me to go through them and find everything I could on the list and mark it off.

I did that and it took a couple hours rooting around. I told Bob I had all of the stuff marked that I'd gotten and was ready to go. I had the money to pay him right there for what I had marked off. He told me to just leave the list and take my junk and he'd order the rest of it and when it came in I could pay for it all then!

I was stunned. I forget now but I had to have had at least a grands worth of bags and boxes all piled up along the counter and ON the counter. He just said box it up and leave the list. Further, he never even bother to look at what I' had out there.

That was just too much. I said Bob you don't know me from Adams off ox and I've only been in here a couple times. I really don't feel comfortable doing it this way. Let me pay you for what I'm taking now. He said nope because he was looking forward to that BIG money all at once. If I paid part now he said he'd just blow it. You're just really not used to that in this day and age so I tried once more, and he said no again. He said he wasn't worried about getting his money because he said he met my daughter. Well then that just makes you feel double good :-)

That was about 9 years ago and it still amazes me to think about it.

................Buckshot