Judge, 1927-11-05 · page 17 of 36
Judge — November 5, 1927 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical column describes the author's nocturnal observations of New York City leisure activities, mocking both the pastimes and the people who enjoy them. The piece ridicules **hide-and-seek at dawn in Times Square**—depicting well-dressed adults playing children's games in public spaces, then complaining when a police officer interrupts. The satire suggests this fashionable activity (called the "dernier cri," or height of fashion) has replaced traditional morning entertainments like Hunt breakfast, highlighting the absurdity of wealthy urbanites' recreation. Similarly, **wheelchair riding on the 8th Avenue boardwalk** is portrayed as a trendy but dangerous amusement, with the author casually mentioning losing "one of my best friends" to an excavation accident—darkly comic understatement typical of Judge's acerbic humor. The column targets the leisure class's performative sophistication and frivolous pastimes, suggesting New York's wealthy are bored, attention-seeking, and oblivious to actual hazards around them.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUD GE This Week’s Lec- as to what the young five and six in the ‘ae IVY — D4 =2 | \ é ook a 2 % J ducked down behind a refuse can, We hadn't been there very long before a policeman (officer of the law) hove in sight and then from different parts of the square came cries of “coo ho Mr. Policeman! The Here we are! however, did not seem to enter into the spirit of the thing and, of course, he officer, written in inquiring ] tween the hours of to settle this ques- tion for once and for all, I stayed out one night last week and now I can speak freely. ft My first inspection tour was through Times Square at 5:10 A. M., directly in front of the Astor House. Everything seemed perfectly quiet on the Potomac at first, and I was about to move along when, sud- denly, I depicted several figures scurrying pout in the graying light of dawn. I i looked closely and i discovered — that is they ‘were hiding in doorways and other jplaces. See- ing a nice young fellow. in evening clothes, I accosted him and said, “What in Pete’s name are you do- ing, fellah?” “Sh,” he hand over his mouth. seek!” ture — “Between Darkness and Dawn.” Many of our little readers have step-outs do be- morning. In_ order | | . vouchsafed, putting his “We are playing hide and Then he grabbed me by the arm and we happened to find us first, and when we told him we were only playing hide and seek, he growled “getahell hom bed or I'll run yez in.” Some people have no sense of humor at Vevertheless, hide and seek at dawn Times Square is the dernier cri this son, and has superseded the old- fashioned Hunt breakfast. —p— The next outdoor sport I discovered to be very popular was wheel chair riding on the 8th Avenue boardwalk. This is much more fun than at lantie City, because the walk itself is very uneven and you get sort of a bump-the-bumps sensation out of it. It is a very health- ful amusement, how- ever, as there is very little gasoline in the air at that time of the morni When hiring a wheel chair and a pusher, however, — in- struct him to be very careful of the e tions along this historic street, as I lost one of my best friends this way the other night. ee Our next trip took us to Fifth Avenue at 49th Street where (Continued on page 28) comicbooks.com