Life, 1920-04-22 · page 7 of 44
Life — April 22, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is titled "Life" and features the poem "Memoranda" by Charlotte Becker about gardens and flowers, illustrated with pastoral sketches. The main cartoon, captioned "Youthful Idealism," depicts a mother instructing two children in a garden setting. The mother's dialogue reads: "Now, Willie, come along and make yourself useful. You're always tellin' me to make myself useful, mother. I wish I could be useless once in a while." The satire mocks the Victorian/Edwardian era's obsession with instilling duty and productivity into children. The child's complaint humorously exposes the relentless pressure of parental expectations—the irony being that even leisure time becomes another opportunity for instruction rather than genuine play or rest. It's a gentle critique of overly earnest child-rearing philosophy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ICemoranda Y garden draws its bloom from many climes Lilies from Spain; red roses bred in France; White daphne, redolent of old romance, From Grecian groves; slim, silver-tasseled limes From quaint Dutch highways; Canterbury chimes From Sussex hollows; quinces from Japan; Wild honeysuckle from far Ispaha And Tuscan almonds famed in Petrarch’s rhymes. And strolling down the bordered pathways, sweet With fragrances so many winds have blown, Is like a glance through diaries, replete With chronicles of happy moments known In distant lands—each blossom fresh and gay, Marking some memory of yesterday Charlotte Becker. YOUTHFUL IDEALISM. Mother: Now, Wii.tr, Come ALONG AND MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL “YOU'RE ALWAYS TELLIN’ ME TO MAKE MFSELF USEFUL, MOTHER. 1 WISH 1 COULD BE UsLLLSs ONCE IN A WHILE.” comicbooks.com