Life, 1918-02-07 · page 25 of 40
Life — February 7, 1918 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1918 page from *Life* contains three separate satirical pieces: **"The Willowbys' Ward"** (top): A domestic comedy strip showing a woman rescuing people from a sleeping porch, likely poking fun at the era's health fad of outdoor sleeping. **"A Bragging Sammie"** (middle): Set in France during WWI, this mocks American soldiers ("Sammie" was slang for American GIs). British soldiers boast of ancestral military pedigree, while an American brags that his family merely *paid* war bills—satirizing Americans' perceived newness and lack of old-world heritage, while implying American wealth financed the war effort. **"Making Sure"** (bottom): An employer interviews a job applicant who claims to be a poet's son. The employer agrees to hire him only if he can prove he hasn't "inherited any of your father's talent"—mocking the notion that mediocrity runs in families and suggesting poets are professionally useless. The "watched pot" proverb appears unconnected to surrounding content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WILLOWBYS’ WARD. 37 HAVING TALKED THEM INTO USING THE SLEEPING PORCH, MOLLIE FEELS BOUND TU COME TO THEIR RESCUF. A Bragging Sammie Sees Somewhere in France. Time: 1918. First Tommy: We have a document at home which proves that our ancestors fought in the Crusades. Srconn Tomay: We have a parchment issued to a member of our family by William the Norman. Tutrp Tomaty: We've got a sword that my ancestor used when fighting with Cromwell. First Samay: Shoot! Why, we've got a certificate in our family Bible that says our family helped to pay the hills of the greatest war in history—1o18! Making Sure 1G BUSINESS MAN: So you're looking for a job, ch? By the way, aren't you the son of the celebrated poet? “Yes, sir.” “Well, we are short-handed, and we might give you a trial—if you can put up a bond that you haven't inherited any of your father’s talent.” “A watched pot never boils.” comicbooks.com