Life, 1919-12-04 · page 48 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains nostalgic and satirical humor typical of early 20th-century American magazines. **"Twenty Years"** is a sentimental poem about a man rediscovering an old photograph, reflecting on his youthful days on Broadway before settling into mundane adult life. The accompanying sketch depicts Santa Claus in an urban neighborhood, evoking that lost past. **"Too Suggestive"** is a brief joke: Crawford remarks that their cook left them, and Crabshaw responds that no wonder—they gave her an alarm-clock for Christmas. The humor relies on the double meaning: an alarm-clock as a practical gift is insulting/dismissive, implying the employer wanted her to leave promptly. **The classroom sketch** shows children discussing hell. Willie threatens to beat a classmate outside to make him "believe in it"—dark humor about childhood violence and religious instruction. These pieces reflect period attitudes toward class, propriety, and childhood, with satire aimed at social pretension and hypocrisy rather than specific political figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: a tea Bed ety A FORGOTTEN NEIGHBORHOOD Twenty Years NIGHT I found your picture In an old, discarded book. Do you know—I'd near forgotten Just the way you used to look? For it's twenty years to Broadway And the glory-days of youth (Yet the heart of me grows hungry— If Vd only tell the truth!) Gad! A man forgets blamed easy In a string of humdrum days— When they lengthen into weeks and months But to-night my memory strays. For it's twenty years to Broadway, Down a dim and fading track: For it’s twenty years to Broadway, And I can’t go back! Too Suggestive RAWEORD: hear thelr: cook Teacher: OM, FOBBIE, YOU MUSTN'T SAY You bON"T HELIEVE IN HELL left them. THAT'S WICKED. Willies Watt TH 1 GkT HIM OUTSIDE, TEACHER. ULL MAKE MIM BELIEVE IN TT, Cranstiaw: No wonder. They gave her an alarm-clock for Christmas comicbooks.cqniym