G'ma Phyl and I hit the road this past weekend to visit with Colin. And while our visit with him was nice, our extended adventures proved interesting as we headed downtown Springfield to see the sights and the new Lincoln Museum.
Maybe it was me goofin' with the Lincoln's, but G'ma Phyl and I learned the hard way that those who work at the Lincoln Museum are some pretty crabby folks.
While I may have set them off with the rabbit ears, G'ma Phyl actually got yelled at by some mean old lady. Well.....she didn't get yelled at actually---I did--for what she was doing. G'ma Phyl actually dared to touch the mannequins that are set out in the middle of the room for photos such as these. They aren't roped off or anything--they are there to take photos with.
Somehow I'm thinking that with the thousands of school groups that pass through their doors, we aren't the first folks to touch the Lincolns. But G'ma Phyl dared to put her arm around the oldest son and some old bitty came over to scream at me about it. So, I had to yell at G'ma Phyl not to touch the merchandise and we moved on giggling.
We went into the log cabin to see how Lincoln lived and G'ma Phyl got yelled at again--for taking photos. Apparently we didn't see the symbol on the back wall for "no taking photos", so we got yelled at by another old bitty. Sigh.
Then it was my turn. After clearing 3 or 4 checkpoints of more stern old bitties, I was reprimanded for not having my wristband around my wrist---by who I refer to as "The Torso".
I'm not sure what the employment qualifications were for this particular woman, but being that she had no arms or legs to speak of, I think the only thing she was hired to do was to yell at people. Really. And while I may seem really insensitive, please know that she didn't hold back from hassling me for not wearing a damn wristband the right way.
I have this weirdness that prevents me from wearing those paper/fabric wristbands that amusement and water parks all like us to wear. Being that I can't easily get those off, I sort of freak out and feel all claustrophobic. I know it is weird, but I've had many an employee tell me that I am not alone in this weirdness and they allow me to put it on my swimsuit or belt loop to keep my from freaking out. But not this dame.
And of all people who you would think that would understand handicaps, this woman should have just shut her yapper when I showed it to her looped onto my bracelet. But no, lady-with-no-arms-and-no-legs-and-just-two-fingers-sticking-out-of-her-side proceeds to drill me a new one. Seriously. And while I'm typically very sensitive with those who have handicaps, I was gonna say something to this babe. I explained my issue slowly, but girlfriend/torso wouldn't have it. She just kept blathering on about the fact that it was not around my wrist. Sigh.
It was a very long visit with the Lincolns and we finally bailed early. Seriously, the volunteers at that place were so hard-core that we couldn't even enjoy ourselves.
I guess Mary Todd got the last laugh--I swear she was smirking.
17 comments:
I have always admired A. Lincoln for his strength in the face of adversity. Would love to visit the museum one day.
Yes, the people working at museums over here behave similarly :(
so glad that you and Gma Phyl had a good time. If it were me and my mother, we would have gotten kicked out. Between the inappropriate laughter and our inability to keep our hands off the merchandise, security would have gotten involved. Let's face it, solemn Lincoln mannequins are just funny. They all look constipated.
Weirdness is a boon to production of blog story; not so much for traipsing through shrines. [tehe]
Glad you had a good trip and that you are home safely.
Maybe "The Torso" is in a phase of feeling sorry for herself which translate to picking on visitors and being crabby-mean.
I LOVED the Lincoln Museum. We went the second year it was opened.
Re: rabbit ears - Oh no you didn't! Um, they are volunteers - Complain - loudly. Paid a$$holes are bad enough but volunteer a$$holes? I had a "volunteer" follow me around a store once. When I got home I emailed the store manager and made a stink about it. Profuse apologies followed with a note that better training was probably needed. Ya think?
You two are just a bunch of rebel-rousers ! Sounds like those volunteers need to have a some new employee programs...medication Mondays...therapy Tuesdays...wine Wednesdays...
Was this woman's last name "Booth"? This could have explained many things.
Love that picture!
We visited Sylvia's sister and her family in Springfield in the 60s. We visited the Lincoln (memorial?) site. For good luck, folks would rub the nose of Lincolns huge bust. So most of the statue was that rich brown of weathered bronze, the nose shone like gold. (It seemed disrespectful to me.) I watched a lot of folks do that, and not a one of them was admonished for their misbehavior.
Paid or volunteer - no excuse for bad service.
Wow. That sounds like a pretty cranky "fun detour". Sorry they were such sticklers and ruined your fun!! When I was walking around a museum in Greece last summer with our school kids (high school, mind you), there were PLENTY of guards around that yelled at our kids left and right for stupid things like that. It seems that you are not allowed to smile, but should look more serious for photos in those situations. Our kids could get away with some antics if they just didn't smile!!
Oh man how I would love a road trip with you and Phyl. What a trip that trip would be!
Well hanging with the Lincolns would be kind of fun but they really need to give those volunteers the boot. That torso lady should check and see if they have any spare arms laying around that she could have. maybe she would be a little nicer then
So, if she was a thalidomide baby adult, and had no wrists, how would she wear a wrist band?
My guess is that those old bitties were once doing what you did and got yelled at. Now they're back for vengeance! ;)
Lin, I think that hat could work for you. See if Mary Todd would lend it too you.
Duni--I didn't like the museum very much, and not just because of the workers. There weren't many artifacts or things to read. I think I have seen better collections, but we still had fun laughing.
DG--There really wasn't much to touch, so we were well-behaved. We giggled a LOT through this because the people were just idiots. But we did leave early because they were ruining the fun. :(
Vanilla--Yeah, why do I think Lincoln would have been on our side?
Jodi--Truth be told, I didn't like this museum. There wasn't much in the way of reading or artifacts--something I sorely missed. The Historical Society of Chicago had a much better exhibit years ago. I wouldn't go back and I definitely would not recommend it after our experience. I'm still giggling about being yelled at by a torso.
Grace--I did end up sending a note to the volunteer coordinator today because it just bugged me. Tell me what that woman was volunteering for--she had no arms or legs! I think she was there just to yell at people! EEEK!
Melodie--THEY needed the rabbit ears!! But I'm thinking Mary Todd and Abe would have laughed with us.
Betty--You know I can't just stand there and behave. ;)
Chuck--EVERY statue of Lincoln in Springfield has a shiny nose!! I'm with you on disrespect like that--it is just wrong. There are no bronze statues at this museum--that might be why.
Pricilla--No kidding! I did fire off an email about it today. I'm still mad about torso lady.
Nancy--Notice how serious I was with the rabbit ears. My mom was giggling for her photo and that is when she got yelled at. I think you are right!
Helene--It was pretty fun. We did a lot of laughing until we got tired of being reprimanded and left.
Ann--I'm thinking she was jealous of my wristbandless arms. ;) I'm being naughty, but she was asking for it.
Sharky--Yeah! And I should have asked her how SHE would handle the situation--but I was polite. I had my mother there, remember. ;)
Violet--Oh, I don't ever want to get old if I get crabby like that! Sheesh, it was AWFUL!
Highway--I think my duck would look good dressed as Mary Todd Lincoln!
I'm sure you're right about that. But if they did have a bronze bust of Lincoln, it would give the holler sisters something to shout about. :)
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