There’s an old Harry Truman joke. (What other kind would there be!?) The press had followed Pres. Truman to his home in Independence, Missouri, where he was holding court in his rose garden. He was telling the mob of reporters the secret to growing his prize roses: plenty of manure! They couldn’t get enough of Truman’s down-home outspokenness; they were encouraging him, and this inspired him further, and so it went. Listening nervously, a young press aide to the president sidled up to the first lady, Bess Truman, and suggested, “Mrs. Truman, don’t you think it would sound better for the newspapers if we encouraged the president to use the word ‘compost’ instead of ‘manure’?” Bess looked at the young man and replied, “Do you know how long it took me to get him to say ‘manure’?” Of course, everyone here has heard that one.
Warning: Manure Subject Matter
By Jimmy Johnson
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162 responses to “Warning: Manure Subject Matter”
Well, in French the more guttural term would be “Merde!” That was also purportedly the response of the commander of the Old Guard at Waterloo when they were covering Napoleon’s escape route as a rearguard and were told to surrender. Certainly got right to the point.
Later on, another account had it that the response rendered in English was “The Guard dies, but it does not surrender!” Boy, those French sure pack a lot of meaning into that one word… :O
Yes, I’ve heard it and I still enjoy hearing it. And if anyone else enjoys Harry Truman , read “Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure : The True Story of a Great American Road Trip” by Matthew Algeo.
Thank you, Mary in Ohio, for the book recommendation. I would enjoy reading about Harry Truman. He seems like he was such an original.
Well, so much for projects – fussy kitty insisted on napping in my lap. Taking a wild guess here, but seeing me feed, scritch, and generally fawn over the outside kitties the past few days probably has something to do with it. 🙂
I am getting moved back to the first store I managed. Not the really big one with fuel -yet. (Although that might happen sooner rather than later, if things continue as they are.) My assistant is devastated. She does not deal well with change. The ladies at the bank have all sworn to swat my boss the next time he comes in. (Not all the stores bank at the same location.) I have to admit, I will miss getting the “wave” or applause when I walk in – it’s a slow branch. 🙂
Not sure how I feel about it yet. There hasn’t been any real leadership over there since I left. Not that I am bragging – the person who replaced me was … well… unscrupulous. The two that followed were tossed in without adequate training. Luckily for me, I started with “the worst boss ever.” Her people skills were awful, but she knew her job inside and out, backwards and forwards, and any direction inbetween. She demanded quality work of herself and everyone else. I am grateful for her insistence on understanding the mechanics of the job, and I thank her for those skills on a regular basis. I am going to need them.
To further rattle my universe, my best friend found out she has uterine cancer. Thankfully caught at the earliest stage, the doctor expects a full remission after treatment. She goes in for surgery on my birthday. I normally don’t make wishes on my birthday – I am making an exception this year.
Evan, just by coincidence I read about that quote in a book I was just reading about Patton. The footnote provided the interpretation. The response had been considered as an answer to the German demand to surrender. They settled on “nuts”.
Galliglo:
“You are a scientist, and those of the scientific nature usually do not “embroider”. Neither do mathematicians. It is usually we who lean toward the various “liberal arts” that have to be more careful!” As scientists go, I am adequate: deeply committed to scientific integrity, but not responsible for any major advances/insights. I also consider the sciences, properly taught, as essential to a liberal arts education, and am deeply committed to the lib arts in general, and to several subjects in particular [e.g., G&S].
I can embroider with the best of them, but not like some pathologic scientists I have known, and others I know of [e.g., some who have testified on the effects of tobacco use in the past]. We had two, over the years. The first a borderline personality that eventually sought success elsewhere, and the second a charlatan who resigned to enter the private sector in the snake oil business.
Peace, emb
Mindy: Gosh, too many life changes all at once! I know that you will be able to handle the transfer. Obviously “corporate” thinks well of your being able to get that store back on track.
And… I shall be saying prayers for your friend. Thankfully, if one “has” to have cancer, that type has a high rate of cure. I had the same type, and I am still going strong 40+ years later!
Thank you for your kind words in the previous thread, Denise. All of you who are recuperating from surgery, injury, loss of loved ones, continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. There seems to be an epidemic of troubles among people I know (in my workplace and community) in recent weeks. Going by the old adage, “when it rains, it pours,” I’m hoping these April showers will soon bring May flowers!
Why, thanks, Jean dear. I could certainly do worse than to look like Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who was also a genuine and decorated hero of WWII.
Unfortunately, my job doesn’t bring the fringe benefits that his did.
http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Darrieux,%20Danielle/Annex/NRFPT/Annex%20-%20Darrieux,%20Danielle%20(Rage%20of%20Paris,%20The)_NRFPT_01.jpg
Debbe 😉 I’ll bet this one you remember this one…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0nc-hh9viQ
I’ve learned…. That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of
an elderly person. AR
Old is 15 year older than YOU are.
emb
I should have demonstrated the degree with 70*
Good morning Villagers…..
I pray all our Southern friends are in not harm’s way of the storms crossing the south. They say 16 tornadoes touched down in TX. And one in Florida (can’t recall the name of the city).
Indy Mindy, go get ’em. With your determination, skills, and customer service skills, I have no doubt you will have that store back in the same shape you left it. Life’s daily challenges, what would we do without them…..
Nodak…no truer ink has been put on paper….thanks.
Yesterday, and higher ranking personnel from The Corp came by to see why our egg shells are thin and the hens are ‘attacking’ the eggs and eating them. I had a couple of dead in the wagon and one was still a little ‘fresh’. Hmmm…he said, then he asked if I had a cage where I put hens who are down and are put in there for recovery….I grinned, yes, I said. I pulled one Miss Prissy out, and he felt around her rib cage. He gave me a lesson in chicken biology 101. There were knots on her rib cage indicating a calcium deficiency. The next one I pulled out had the same….he told me I probably saved their lives….I just beamed. Before he left, I found one poor old hen who had just died, she was still warm….I took her to him. He felt around her, her wing broke, then he snapped her legs….guys, it sounded like a twig snapping. So they’ve increased Vitamin D-3 in their water and are continuing with a special mix of feed. While I was standing there holding one of my hens and talking to him, I found myself ‘petting’ the hen under her wing…I told him they like to be petted there…he told me “they’re like babies, aren’t they?” Made my day.
And yes, GR 😉 it does bring back memories….
Ya’ll have a safe, blessed day.
Granny Carol….good to see your post….doing well, I pray?
Jerry….watch the skies…………
Today’s inspiration: (thinking of Indy Mindy)
http://cheezburger.com/7074907392
GR 😉 hope you’ve met your deadline……
…and Indy Mindy….prayers for your friend, and the encouragement from Gal….pass it on.
Today’s strip about Arlo not being affected by strong past feelings reminds me of a joke from quite a few years ago:
Another reason why it’s great to be a guy: one mood, all the time.
Mindy, your tale of what you learned from your former boss reminded me that we learn something from each person we meet. Your employees will remember all the good things which you pass along from your former boss plus all the people skills you possess. Good luck on the new store, for it IS new…just as you can’t step in the same river twice, you can’t manage the same store twice. And your friend is in my prayers. I hope all your wishes come true!
Debbe, if I follow you, the eggshells are thin because of the calcium deficiency; and the hens, under the stress of the deficiency, are attacking the eggs for their nutritional value. Is that right?
Jerry, hope the skies above your head have been only friendy during the last round of bad weather.
Didn’t Arlo once say something to the effect that lugging bags of cow guano around for Janis on the weekend was like a busman’s holiday?
The rain at the moment is going north and south of me although it appears to have rained a lot earlier. We’ve had almost no wind and very little lightning. I haven’t heard about the tornado in Florida although I saw an image on the radar last night that made me warn the household to take cover on a moment’s notice. A skeptical look from Cilla was about the only response. I can do a Rodney Dangerfield impression, but I do not look like him.
That’s why Texans send their boys to A&M…to learn to say “Fantastic” instead of “Bull****”
Debbe
We always had calcium mixed in the feed, especially when the birds got older.
And since they were not caged birds they had free choice crushed oyster shells.
They still attacked any broken eggs.
Webcam looking at OF. emb
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
Jimmy I believe that the Truman story is an Urban Legend. I don’t think he EVER substituted manure for his word of choice.
Wives can be very honest about their husbands.
There is an old joke about former Purdue Football Coach, Joe Tiller. Tiller took the team to a taping of the Tonight Show and Jay Leno joked that Tiller, who was follicle challenged, was not only coaching the Boilermakers on New Year’s Day but was out there filming a Rogaine commercial.
Afterwards, Joe complained to his wife that Leno was being rather unfair with him. She told him to relax “He could have said that you were filming a Viagra commercial”