Life, 1923-08-02 · page 39 of 40
Life — August 2, 1923 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains **two distinct pieces**: ## Left Column: Social Satire A humorous domestic story depicts Mr. Simpson's frustration with car culture. He's exhausted by visiting neighbors' homes via automobile—enduring noisy drives, forced compliments about cars and drivers, and unwanted trips to places he dislikes. His breaking point: he decides to buy not one but *two* cars himself, so his family can stay home. The joke satirizes 1920s automobile aspirations and status anxiety: acquiring a car becomes necessary merely to *avoid* the social pressure of car visits. Mrs. Simpson immediately plans to invite the Joneses for a ride, perpetuating the cycle—the very behavior that drove Simpson mad. ## Right Column: Advertisement An Orange-Crush beverage ad features a boy and girl holding bottles, targeting families with messaging about children eagerly coming home for cold drinks. The ad emphasizes parental appeal and refreshment. **Historical context**: This reflects 1920s anxieties about automobile ownership becoming a social obligation and status marker among middle-class neighbors.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Jones Got a Car, Too, and Pounced on the Smiths. “T wave admired anybody's orite view or sunset for the last time,” said Simpson, slamming the screen door as the Greens drove away. “To- morrow I'm going to take the mort- gage money and the children’s savings and buy a car of our own. Then we can leave it standing in front of the house on Sunday and sit quietly on our porch without making our friends and neighbors feel sorry for us.” He sank into a chair, limp. is thing of shouting down the noise of an engine on a hot afternoon so you can convey complimentary re- marks to your host’s wife in the back seat has at last broken my morale,” he went on. “And going at breakneck speed to places I detest and having to exclaim over roadhouse food and say nice things about the skill of the driver and the speed of his car are ruining my summer and my disposi- tion. “For five years I have fought ist getting a car before I could afford it or needed it but to-morrow I plunge. I'll buy two cars if nec sary to get to stay at home. I'll have a car by the end of this week. “That'll be great,” responded Mrs. Simpson, sitting up straight on the sofa where she had fallen exhausted. She clapped her hands and bounced across the room toward the telephone. ybe if they deliver it right away we can take the Joneses out riding next Sunday. I'm going to call up Helen Jones right now and tell her we'll probably be around in our car and take them out.” McC. H. Sunday Morning Slumber 4 a. M....Those mourning doves, nesting in the burr oak at the edge of the sleeping porch, intone their matins. That fool Smith boy wonders if his motorcycle engine is all right and finds out that it is. 5 a. M....The sounds that go with sprinkling a lawn are soothing and stful the other twenty-three hours of the day. At this moment you hate Brown with a hate you never sus- pected you could hate. 6 \. M....Mental note: Milk bot- ules should be made of rubber. 7 \. M....“Bambalina” from a bathroom. 8 \. M....Can the cause of those hellish noises from that decrepit auto- mobile be your friend Jone: 9... M....Is that paper boy sing- ing or moaning and why? 10 o'clock. Well, might as well get up. There’s nothing like a few extra hours of complete rest and-telaxation to sect a man up for the week. I wish I could remember that waltz from “Blossom Time.” Tastes better out of the “Krinkly Bottle” the “Crushes” too. rane Try Ward's LEMON-CRUSH LIME-C RUSH The two delicious com- | panion ‘drinks of | Orange-Crush —also delightful, Crush- flavored Ice Cream, Ices and Sherbets. Ask any retail ice-cream dealer for them. WHEN GOOD —and Thirsty “gaia: “andy Mother doesn’t need to call twice—especially when there’s Orange-Crush on ice. Just whisper that magic word “Crush” and see them scamper home, hot and ever so thirsty. There’s a twinkle in the children’s eyes that matches the sparkle in the bottle. See it bubble up and watch it gurgle down, every cooling swallow deliciously satisfy- ing. « Here’s a secret: mothers and fathers like ORANGE-CRUSH COMPANY, Chicago, U. S. A. 47 Gt. Tower Street, London, E. C. 3 Orange-Crush Co., Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada CONSTITUENTS Ward's “Crushes” owe their distinctive and de- lightful flavors to the nat- ural fruit oils of oranges, lemons and limes. To these have been added pure cane sugar, citrus fruit juices, U. S. certi- fied food color, fruit acid and carbonated “water, comicbooks.com