First of all: The Gunny rocks. Click to embiggen

gunnyposter.jpg

I was walking the show and saw the line forming; while I would queue up for Jerry Miculek or Tom Knapp, not too many other celebrities interest me. But then I saw it was the Gunny. So I got in line- and while there were few people ahead of me, the wait was long; R Lee loves to talk.

When I arrived at the front of the line I half expected to be told to choke myself like Private Pyle. Instead, the Gunny welcomed me like a brother. I told him I was a longtime fan and a great admirer, and a fellow hunter of the violent and dangerous North American Watermelon.

R Lee expounds (and pardon me if i take a bit of license, here, I did not have any way to record it so I’m going from my flawed memory)”Back when we were doing the Mail Call with the Samurai sword, we thought, ‘What are we going to cut? We can’t cut down a tree, this is california! We’d need a court order!’ so we were talking about it after lunch, and I said, “Is there any of that watermelon left over from lunch?” Turns out there was, and of course ever since then every episode had to have an exploding watermelon”

I asked him why he never spoke about the Corps on the show, and he said “The history channel won’t let me. THey hate guns, they hate the Military, they hate that the show is popular. They’re about to cancel it” if you look at the time slots they assign it’s no wonder. Anyway, he said to write the History channel and let them know you like the show and to keep the Gunny working. The email for their comments is thc.viewerrelations@aetv.com

By all means, write these nutballs a note for the Gunny.

He signed the poster above to me, and he put his heavily tattooed arm around my shoulder in such a way as I had to put my arm behind his back- he’s as solid as a rock, by the way, I wouldn’t piss him off on a bet- and one of the Glock ladies took our picture. I said ‘You know, you’re the kind of man that everyone with Testicles would love to be.”

He said “Damned sure everyone wants my job!” I bowed out because the line was growing and he said “Wait just a goddamned minute, let me see if i have..” (here he dug in the pocket of his jacket) “You’re in luck! I have some left” and he handshook me a R Lee Ermey/Glock challenge coin. It’s laying on the little poster above, if you embiggenate. He shook my hand again and said “Semper Fi!”.

yes, Joanna, I’m a fanboi. But at least I’m a fanboi of a no-holds barred honest to God Man. Whatever you think of the Gunny, you cannot deny he’s all Man.