I was at an airshow several years ago and a local scale model club had set up a display in one of the hangars. There were a lot of prize-winning models set up - guys that really knew what they were doing and had the tools and talent to produce some first-rate stuff.
Farther down the tables was a collection of 1/48 scale Revell/Monogram WW2 kits, the kind I used to build as a kid, that looked like they'd been done with a can of paint and a 1/2" house paint brush. ID paint stripes that were supposed to be square, weren't. Seams that were supposed to be flush, weren't. Gaps where the canopy met the fuselage. That sort of thing. As I looked at it, I smiled because, to me, that's what modeling is all about. Its about enjoying the hobby, about building the kit and if you mess up, oh well, just keep going and see how it turns out. You don't have to be perfect.
So I'm standing there examining a green A6M with a big smile on my face and off to the side I can see an older gentlemen looking at me, frowning, like I had just insulted his wife or something. I didn't think much about it until after the show when I realized that he was probably the guy that built the kits and was thinking that I was laughing at him. I felt bad about it and went back the next day to see if he was there so I could talk to him, but he wasn't there - he had been so insulted that he had packed up his stuff and left.
Another incident: I was in a grocery store a couple of Sundays ago and an older lady was there giving out samples of a salad. She offered me a cup of it and I said "I'm not much of a salad person." but what she heard was "... not much of a salad...". I had already turned my back and was walking away but I could tell she was miffed about something because she said "Not much of a salad!". By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late to clear it up as she was already helping another customer.
Then, a couple nights ago, I was engaged in dogfights in a 109G6 with gondolas near a Knight base. The fighting was low and in a bunch of valleys. I had just finished knocking down an enemy when I climbed up over a ridge and found myself right in line with the airbase landing pattern. A Knight Spitfire saw me coming and swerved out of the way, but the P-51D rolling down the runway wasn't so fortunate. I drilled him with cannon rounds and his wings fell off. The pilot got on Channel One and started talking about how cheap I was for shooting a wounded 51D coasting down the runway. I wasn't overly concerned about it though. His Spit IX wingman should've been covering him.
