Life, 1924-08-21 · page 25 of 36
Life — August 21, 1924 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces mocking urban life and bureaucratic absurdity: **Main Cartoon (top):** A woman tells a colleague that a visitor "had on a wing collar"—implying his formal dress was his only qualification despite lacking organizational competence. This mocks how superficial appearance can substitute for actual merit in office culture. **"The Eternal Values":** A writer returning from vacation is overwhelmed by two weeks of accumulated newspapers cataloging disasters (murders, suicides, robberies). The satire critiques both the sensationalism of news coverage and modern anxiety about staying informed—he notes a complete French government change "won't take me long" because it caused no bloodshed, suggesting the press only values violent, dramatic events. **"Impossible Diary":** Lists absurdly improbable urban encounters (a taxi driver, English-speaking waiter, non-gossiping golfer), mocking metropolitan life's general incompetence and unpleasantness. **"The Back Drop":** A husband explains his garage door on hinges accommodates his wife's poor parking skills—a domestic joke about women drivers. The page's unifying theme: modern life's frustrations, incompetence, and sensationalism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“SUCH A NICE MAN CAME AND TALKED TO ME IN OUR OFFICE TO-DAY. 1 THE ORGANIZATION, BUT ME HAD ON A WING COLLAR.” The Eternal Values [ AM in my usual post-vacation mood After two weeks of wvdling in the woods, I find myself terribly behind in everything! I am of regret. ginning to wonder if it's worth it. ot that my work at the office counts, f course; that was all prepared. for. I's my dereliction to the world that I haven't in the least kept yp with events. Of course, I really couldn't, shut off as T was from the ly big things of life, but still that doesn't cheer me up. The only thing rat does cheer me is that by working we nights I can make it all up. For- tunately I'd left word with the maid » save all the papers. orries me. This morning, on rising. I skimmed hem over just to see what I had in ront of me. Lord, I'd never realized how much can happen in two weeks! Four hundred p counting the Sun day editions! Ye gods, what a busy world it is! I feel like a renegade. Three hammer murders, six stabbings, twenty-eight suicides, seventeen gun- fights, fifty scandals, ninety-three big robberies, hundreds of... But 1 simply mustn't waste time in jotting it all down this way; | must to work! Incidentally, I notice there's been a complete governmental change — in France. That won't take me long. though. Evidently there was no blood- shed, so the thing died in half a column. Gardner Rea, A MOTION BEFORE THE HOUSE, DON'T THINK HE'S VERY HIGH IN From the Impossible Diary of a Metropolite UNDAY—Introduced to a man who was once given the right telephone number the very first time he asked for it Monday—Discovered a waiter who ac- tually spoke English day—Listened to an conversation between brokers. IWednesday—Was told a joke about a traveling salesman had never heard before. Thursday—Met a golf player didn’t talk continually game. Friday—Thanked driver. intellectual two stock- which who about his politely by Saturday—Heard of a married who had not divorce during once contemp! their resi- dence of three years in the city Cc. G. S. The Back Drop * HY have you got the rear wall of your garage on hinges?” “My wife can't always stop the car.” entire comicbooks.com