I worked as a consultant a few years ago and had a client in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The place was mostly a ghost town and not very safe. They would watch me go to my car to make sure I got out OK.

I'm wondering if those sailors painted those stars on Old Glory. They look so thrilled holding her up.

[It does have that handcrafted look. 38 stars is my guess. - Dave]

I was born in the Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital on Christmas Eve, 1946. I sure hope treatment methods had advanced a little from what they show here!

It's still there, with its windows boarded up. The Navy yard in general is a sad spooky relic. Many of the fine 19th century buildings have been allowed to decay way beyond salvaging. They should have been preserved years ago, but it looks like real estate greed will trump history, as usual.

Wow, those uniforms look horrible! Holes in the one guys pants and both uniforms are all wrinkled, plus their neckerchiefs aren't tied correctly. They would never pass inspection today.

The trousers worn by the sailor on the right appear to have sustained some battle damage.

It would help to actually look at the watch.

I know these people are doing great work, and that the patient is probably not feeling very well, but I just can't stop giggling.

Maybe it's the flag backdrop, the crooked ties, the general poor fit of the clothing, the errant hat foliage, or the fact that none of the men look old enough to grow those jaunty mustaches, but it looks like the blooper reel of a community theater production of H.M.S. Pinafore.

"I take the pulse of my pa-tients,
And so do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts..."

Is volunteering at the hospital today

Never trust a man whose pants are higher than his elbows.