Friday Smiles 335: Back to the Museum of World Treasures

It's Friday and time once again to join Annie (at A Stitch in Time) and the ladies at Friday Smiles.   Today I an returning to the Museum of World Treasures.  But first, a couple more funnies I found when cleaning my office last year.

The couple’s young daughter had adopted a stray cat. 

To her mother’s distress, the cat began to use the back of their new sofa as a scratching post. “Don’t worry,” her husband reassured her. “I’ll have him trained in no time.”

They watched for several days as he patiently “trained” their new pet. Whenever the cat scratched, he deposited the cat outdoors to teach him a lesson.

The cat learned quickly. For the next 16 years, whenever he wanted to go outside, he scratched the back of the sofa.

A couple shared their apartment with a parakeet named “Nicky.” 

The exterminator was scheduled to come, so they put Nicky in the bedroom and hung a sign on the door: “Please skip this room. Do not open door. Pet flies.”

The exterminator came. On his receipt he wrote this comment: “Finished all of the apartment except room with pet flies.”

A lion woke up one morning feeling rowdy. He went out and cornered a small monkey and roared, “Who is mightiest of all jungle animals?” 

The trembling monkey said, “You are, mighty lion!”

Later, the lion confronted a deer and bellowed, “Who is mightiest of all jungle animals?”

The terrified deer stammered, “Oh great lion, you are by far the mightiest animal in the jungle!”

On a roll, the lion swaggered up to an elephant and roared, “Who is mightiest of all jungle animals?”

The elephant snatched up the lion with his trunk, slammed him against a tree, stomped on him and then ambled away.

The battered lion hollered after the elephant, “Sheesh, just because you don’t know the answer, you don’t have to get so upset.”

This guy sees a sign in front of a house “Talking Dog for Sale.” He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the back yard. The guy goes into the back yard and sees a mutt sitting there. 

“You talk?” he asks.

“Yep,” the mutt replies.

 

“So, what’s your story?”

The mutt looks up and says “Well, I discovered this gift pretty young and I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, cause no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies eight years running. The jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger and I wanted to settle down.

So I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security work, mostly wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings there and was awarded a batch of medals. Had a wife, a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. The owner says “Ten dollars.”

The guy says he’ll buy him but asks the owner, “This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him?”

The owner replies, “He’s such a liar.”

St Peter is at his post at the Pearly Gates when a cat shows up. 

St Peter says “I know you! You were a very nice cat on earth and didn’t cause any trouble, so I want to offer a gift to you of one special thing you have always wanted.”

Cat: “Well, I did always long to own a nice satin pillow like my master had, so I could lie on it.”

St Peter: “That’s easy. Granted. You shall have the satin pillow after you enter in.”

Next a group of mice appeared.

St Peter: “Ah, I remember you. You were such good mice on earth. You didn’t steal food and never hurt other animals. Therefore, I want to grant you one special wish you always wanted.”

The Chief Mouse replied, “Well, we always watched the children playing and saw them roller skate, and it was beautiful, and it looked like so much fun, so we’d like some roller skates, if we could?”

St Peter: “Granted. You shall have your wish.”

Next day, St Peter is making the rounds inside Heaven and sees the cat. “Well, Cat…Did you enjoy the satin pillow?”

Cat: “Oh, indeed I did. And say…that “Meals on Wheels” thing was a nice touch, too!”

Only two Military Galleries are left and this museum will be complete.  Several of you have indicated you don't care for the Military galleries, so I am sorry that they aren't enjoyable.  I know they may not be laugh a minute fun and games, and may not be worthy of Friday Smiles, but for me, they indicate where we were and, unfortunately due to our current state of affairs in the states, where we are headed.  I wonder if we will EVER learn from our mistakes.

Today we are viewing the gallery of the ONE REASON I wanted to visit this museum last September.

After seeing the Ken Burns special on PBS last year, I realized I knew absolutely NOTHING about Vietnam or the war (which we called a "conflict").

I set out to interview several men from different walks of life and different armed services.  I shared their words and and stories through my art.  But I also wanted to see how this museum interpreted the Vietnam Conflict which was little more than a footnote in my history book.

I'm not sure anyone else will be interested in this, but I found it fascinating.  Unfortunately everyone else was there to see this specific exhibit, too.  I fought crowds, was pushed, shoved, and had my hand hit several times when I took photos.  It was the worst of the galleries and the best of the galleries.

Somehow, I couldn't get close enough that you can actually read these different military service positions.

The helicopters were to Vietnam what the tank was to WWII and chlorine gas was to WWI.

From 1926 through 1941, military air craft and servicemen were known as the Army Air Corp.  There was no independent U.S. Air Force like there is today.  Harry Truman (our 33rd president) was the one who made it a separate branch of the military in September, 1947.

A row of uniforms

drew a crowd.

I blurred out faces as best I could.

Not sure what exhibit or photo they had pulled.

This exhibit dealt with different types of camouflage.

I was disappointed I couldn't get close enough to actually read everything. I had to stick my camera in between people who were viewing the exhibits.

Many of these groups I had either read about or saw when I viewed the Ken Burns 10 episode series.

And then it was over.  I was tired of being pushed around and stepped in front of, so gave up and made my way to the final Military Gallery, which we will cover next week.

It's time to see what others are smiling about this Friday.  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 us, too.