Life, 1921-12-29 · page 8 of 35
Life — December 29, 1921 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes a common travel complaint. A Mac Prophet (an early arrival to the passenger dock) greets a newcomer with "Say, excuse me, Mister! Wuz it snowin' when you left New York?" The passenger replies "No," then adds "Wuz it cold? Not a bit. Hell! This here island's a fraud!" The joke targets tourists who arrive in Bermuda expecting tropical warmth but find disappointing weather. The "Mac Prophet" character—who warns travelers—represents someone offering unsolicited travel advice to arriving passengers at the dock. The accompanying essay "On Listening" is unrelated to the cartoon, discussing how few people truly listen to others, using Adam as history's "last listener."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mac Prophets (an earlier arrival, to passenger just off boat): _ St lirES Title Contest To Our Friends: N account of the great number of titles received, it is not possible at the present moment to announce the date of Lirr’s issue which will contain the names of the prize winners. We are taking unusual care with this con- test, and there are a large number of unusually bright titles. The work of reading and of judging them carefully requires time. Be assured that every * effort is being made towards an an- nouncement of the final results. Scene: The Boat-Landing at Bermuda. it snowin’ when you lef’ Noo York? Passenger: No. “Wuz it cold?” “Not a bit.” “Hell! This here island’s a fraud!” On Listening HE !ast listener was Adam. It got him into so much trouble that nobody has ever dared to listen since. It is highly fortunate that the people who talk don’t know this. They are always under the impression that those to whom they talk are listening. That is why they continue to talk. Could anything be more thoughtful of Providence than that? Because if somebody should ever stop to listen, then somebody else might follow suit. With two listeners there might come a third, and after that, nothing would stop people generally from becoming listeners. In the course of time every- body would haxe stopped talking to Say, excuse me, Mister! Wuz listen. Then there would be no more talkers. That is the great law that governs us. If everybody listened, nobody would talk. Now that everybody talks, nobody listens. You do not believe this? Then observe the man who ap- pears to be listening to you. In reality he is saying to himself: “This poor boob thinks that I am listening to him. In reality, I have merely trained my- self to give the appearance of listening while at the same time I am carrying on a nice little train of thought mysel!.” T. L. M. Cynicism is the screen behind which youth hides its inexperience—and age its disappointment. comicbooks.com