Life — August 24, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Life: My Uncle Jim" This is a children's poem by R.E.A. about a mischievous uncle who playfully frightens his nephew at bedtime. The poem uses phonetic dialect ("'N'" for "and") to capture colloquial speech. Uncle Jim hides under furniture, makes animal noises ("Woof! woof!"), and generally causes harmless chaos—sneaking around chairs, hiding in bookshelves, and startling the child. The accompanying illustration, titled "The First Hurdle Race," depicts anthropomorphized animals (bears, dogs, and other creatures) in a racing scene with hurdles and clouds of dust. This appears to be a whimsical visualization of childhood play and adventure rather than political satire. The overall page celebrates playful, mischievous behavior as wholesome family entertainment—typical of early 20th-century children's literature in *Life* magazine.