Life, 1913-09-11 · page 26 of 44
Life — September 11, 1913 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This humorous dialogue satirizes indecisive passengers and the absurdity of over-complication. A lady repeatedly questions a railroad porter about seat availability, asking about nearly every day of the week while the porter tries to explain a simple rule: seats are unavailable Monday and Saturday (when townspeople travel), but guaranteed other days. The joke lies in her circular, confused questioning—she keeps asking the same information in different ways, seemingly unable to grasp or commit to a simple answer. The porter's patient, repetitive explanations become increasingly circular as she second-guesses herself about which days she actually wants to travel. The caption cartoon above shows a flirtatious exchange ("a kiss against a nickel"), establishing the era's light-hearted, social humor typical of Life magazine's satirical content about everyday situations and human behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“AREN'T YOU GOING TO GIVE ME A KISS, FRANK “IT'LL MATCH YOU, AUNT MARY. HERE was a lady on the train, in the drawing room car, and she said: “Porter, can I get a seat coming back from Ellenville?” “Yaas'm,” said the porter; “if yo’ let me know I can keep a seat fo’ yo’.” “All right, porter. Any day?” “Yaas'm. Any day but Monday and Saturday.” “But Monday and Saturday?” “Yaas'm. Dats de time when all de folks comes back and forth from town. On other days yo’ jest let me know couple hours ahead.” “Oh, I see. Monday and Saturday. might come Tuesday.” “Yaas'm.” “You said Monday and Saturday?” “Yaas’m. Monday and Saturday I ain’t got no guarantee.” “Then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs- day and Friday would be all right?” “ Yaas'm.” “Would Friday do?” She Wanted to Know “Yaas'm.” “Well, I'll sec. ‘You say any day but Monday and Saturday.” “Yaas'm. I can always get yo’ a seat Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Monday and Satur- Pa “You said Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You couldn't possibly get me one Monday, could you?” “No, ma’am. Yo’ see, folks comes to town Monday, That is, unless yo" let me know about a weck ahead.” “Oh, I see. I might come Wednes- day. It would be all right for Wednes- day, wouldn't it?” “Oh, yaas’m. Wednesday would be all right.” “And Thursday?” “Yaas'm. Thursday or Friday—" “Did you say I couldn't get a seat Tuesday?” No, ma’am, Tuesday.” 1 cau get you a seat A KISS AGAINST A NICKEL.” “T don't think I would want to go Tuesday.” “Yaas'm. Then Wednesday, Thurs- day or Friday.” “Oh, yes. You couldn't get seats those days?” “Yaas'm. Monday folks go to town, Saturday all comes back, But I can get you a seat Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.” “Oh, you could. I should hardly want to go Friday.” “Yaas'm. Well, dare’s Wednesday, Thursday—” “T'd have to let you know ahead?” “Yaas'm, Sho’t time ahead.” “You said, I think, any day but Tuesday and Saturday?” “No, ma'am. Excuse me.” At this moment the porter was called off by a frantic man who was trying to locate his seat in the front of the car, Then the lady said: “ How stupid of me. I forgot to ask him about Sunday.” comicbooks.com