Friday, May 24, 2019

Friday Smiles 322: More Museum and an update on my flower bed


I'm once again joining Annie (at A Stitch in Time) and the ladies at Friday Smiles.  But first, here are a few funnies I found in my office when I cleaned it last year.


Poor Leroy had fallen on hard times. He lost his job at the fertilizer plant, his wife had left him, his unemployment had run out, and he was evicted from his apartment. He packed what little he had in a knapsack, made a little sign that read "Will work for food" and set off down the road on foot.
       

Toward the middle of the day, he came to a farmhouse. He was getting very hungry, and so he knocked on the front door. A woman answered, and Leroy explained his situation, and how he could do most anything and how hungry he was.  

At first the woman wanted no part of Leroy, but he persisted. Finally she asked "Can you paint?"
      
"Oh yes, ma'am," Leroy said, "I sure can paint. I've done a lot of painting. Just let me show you." The woman relented, found a can of paint and a brush and said, "You go around back and paint the porch, and I'll fix you dinner." Happily, Leroy went to work.
      
About 40 minutes later, Leroy appeared at the front door. "Are you finished so soon?" asked the woman.
      
"Oh yes, ma'am," said Leroy, "but I think you ought to know that's not a Porsche, it's a Volvo."





Two men, Robert and James, applied for an engineering position. Both applicants having the same qualifications were asked to take a test by the department manager.
      
Upon completion of the exam both men only missed one of the questions. The manager went to Robert and said, "Thank you for your interest, but we've decided to give James the job."
      
 Robert replied, "Why? We both correctly answered nine questions. I believe I should get this job, especially since I've grown up in this town and James just moved here."
      
The manager said, "We made our decision not on the correct answers, but on the question you missed."
      
"How could one incorrect answer be better than the other?," asked Robert.
      
"Simple," said the manager. "James put down on question #5, 'I don't know', and you put down, 'Neither do I.'"


I think that's enough funnies today, since I want to update everyone on my flower bed and, as one commenter noted, the "mole hills" that have gotten even bigger next door.

It was definitely still raining when I took this photo.  It's raining now, too.



The "mole hills" have moved to the street, where there is mud everywhere and nary a street sweeper has been on my street for at least 10 years.

Now let's head back to the museum.

WWII was fought on two fronts, one in Europe, one in Asia.  These memorabilia are refer to the Asian side of the war.  Someone put their greasy head up against the plexiglass display case. 




We'll return to this area again.


I got turned around and we'll be back to see the Navajo code talkers again.

This section talks about the Rape of Nanjing (translated to Nanking).  For me, this was as interesting as the German Holocaust.  The destruction of Nanjing, the capital of the Nationalist Chinese from 1928 to 1937, was taken over by the Japanese Central China Front Army that captured the city.  The massacre occurred over a period of six weeks starting on December 13, 1937, the day that the Japanese captured Nanjing.  Over the next several weeks, Japanese soldiers perpetrated numerous mass executions and tens of thousands of rapes.  The army looted and burned the surrounding towns and the city, destroying more than a third of the buildings.  In 1940 the Japanese made Nanjing the capital of their Chinese puppet government.  

Since most Japanese military records on the killings were kept secret or destroyed shortly after the surrender of Japan in 1945, historians have been unable to accurately estimate the death toll of the massacre, but estimates put the number from 40,000 to over 300,000.

Thankfully, there were no children in this area.  Some of the photos were too ghastly for me to show and put on the internet.









I hope you could read the captions, since I really don't have time to type them out.

I have no idea how I got so turned around, but this was a photo from Germany. 
As promised, I've returned to this area I missed before.

I hope you can read this.







This is a good place to leave today.  Next Friday will be the day before the WOYWW crop, so most of the  Friday Smiles participants in the UK will be preparing for it, I suspect.

Thanks as usual for joining me in the museum today.  Please don't forget to start your weekend off right by visiting Annie for a few Friday Smiles.  We would love to have you join, also.
 

17 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

Your poor garden. It does look very wet, and those muddy piles are huge. The atrocities committed in war times were awful, wherever they took place. Valerie

Annie said...

Hope the rain stops soon and allows your poor plants to recover. The museum photo subjects were really haunting today....how can one human being do what they did to another? Not happy photos this week sadly.
Hugs,
Annie x

Lisca said...

Such awful weather! Your poor garden. I hope it recovers soon. It might have liked the rain (but I don’t think so)
The funnies are very funny. I hadn’t heard either before. We are at the airport hanging around waiting for our flight, so I will cheer hubby up by reading out the jokes.
Now those holocaust photos were not funny at all, but very interesting. I hadn’t heard of the native Americans using their languages as code. How clever. It seems that they eventually got honored for it too (after it was declassified).
Thank you for again aninteresting post,
Have a nice weekend,
Lisca

Anne (cornucopia) said...

You've had some rough weather this season. I hope your flower garden is okay. I like the term "mole hills" for those dirt piles. Ugh. The museum looks like a great place to visit. Some of those photos were hard to see. It still amazes me, mankind's inhumanity to mankind. I learned about the Navajo Code Talkers from X-Files (TV series). Prior to that, I never knew about it: they didn't teach us that in history class.

kathyinozarks said...

So much rain and violent storms here in Missouri too-most of the camp grounds in the state are all flooded.
War is just so horrible isn't it?
Happy Friday

CJ Kennedy said...

Looks like you need to build an ark. I enjoyed both funnies. A nice way to start a morning. Amazing how cruel a species we are to our own kind. I first learned about the Code Talkers from watching the movie Windtalkers starring Nicholas Cage and Adam Beach.

froebelsternchen said...

I am sure your garden will recover soon dear Elizabeth! It looks quite good to me in that photos! Fresh and green!
Aweful this horrible things humans did and still do in wars!
Great funnies a s always dear Elizabeth!
Hope your weather turns better very soon!
Happy start of the weekend dear Co.-Admin!
June is scheduled already!
Susi xxx

Caty said...

Ayy that garden that was already blooming, what a pity! but nature is so clever, and you´ll see your garden wonderful again. I hope the rain stops, and that they take the mud from the streets Elizabeth. More I have heard on the news that there are hurricanes in Missouri, with many houses completely destroyed. Let's see if time calms down.
So good your funnies! but ... it wasn't to porsche! Hahaha.
I hate wars, how sad! Thank you very much for sharing your visit to the museum, so we do not forget our history.
I wish you a very good weekend dear friend, with nice weather.
I send big hugs, Caty

Divers and Sundry said...

Your garden will soon recover. I trust it :)

That museum is _huge_!

My name is Erika. said...

You are looking very green with that rain. Although we've all have had a lot this year, your part of the country has sure had a lot of rain. here it doesn't feel like Memorial Day weekend weather at all. often I am thinking about swimming, but not this year. And thanks for bringing us back to the museum. The WW2 holocaust photos were tough to see. What a tough war it was. Hope it ws a happy Friday and I know I was a little late stopping by but its been a busy day. Hugs-Erika

Marfi-topia said...

I bet your garden will flourish when it recovers:)

Thank you for the trip to the museum..such an informative post.

mamapez5 said...

My word, you get some rain in your parts don't you. You need a water garden, not a flower one! I hope it stops soon before the whole road is a mud bath.
The funnies made smile.
there were some rather harrowing photos from your museum visit but they are important. We must never be allowed to forget. Kate xx

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Loving the funnies, they make my day. The museum certainly has a great collection. It started raining here later this afternoon but I think it's stopped now but it has been quite dry again so we really need some rain again. I had to smile when you said Mole Hill. My girl dog Maisie has to pee on the mole hills in the park and no matter how high they are she has to get right on the top and it would be interesting to see her trying to climb onto that Mole Hill Lol!
Have a great weekend my friend. Hugs, Angela and big licks from Maisie and Stan xXx

Birgit said...

A Volvo...painted? Hahhaaa. They are fun to read. The museum is one I would love to go to and very few people know about the major atrocities the Japanese army did to the Chinese and the captured allied soldiers. They did not believe in the Geneva Convention. It’s painful that they took decades to finally apologize and that was not a great apology either.

Lowcarb team member said...

I do hope your garden recovers - I'm sure it will.

Enjoyed all the photographs and information about the museum.

All the best Jan

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh no! Your poor wet garden and mud in the street, which will turn to dust before too long I expect! The museum certainly does cover a lot! Temperatures are due to rise this weekend so it will be warm in the car on the way to the crop! Hugs, Chrisx

Jeanie said...

Sending many good wishes to your garden. It's so frustrating, isn't it? Hope all recovers soon.

You rarely hear of Rape of Nanking. I'm glad this museum includes such things.