We were in the “Hobby Hall”. We were allowed to use the spot where they have one big display each year. It was right near the doors that go to the stage between the Hobby Hall and the building where they have all the flowers.
Our friend, Master Sergeant Emmons joined the army when he was 18 and was finally forced to retire from his reserve unit when he turned 60. He did tours in Vietnam and also both gulf wars. For many years he taught small arms out at Fort Lewis. He is quite a character, and can always be counted on to take political incorrectness to new levels. The “Veterans for Peace” had a small booth not to far from us which they discontinued after the first week. I suspect that Mike’s chiding may have had something to do with it.
I cut myself off. Every hour or two Mike would check his watch and say he would be back in a little bit. A couple times my wife would leave around the same time to get some snacks; she said that each time she saw Mike head straight over to the “Veteran's for Peace” booth and start giving whichever volunteer who had just started their shift a bad time. He did tell us that after some of his interrogations that he had determined that many of them were not actually veterans at all and that they wouldn't be back. I don't know how exactly he convinced them to leave, but after being a drill sergeant for so many years, he learned some persuasive techniques.