Life, 1925-02-12 · page 23 of 36
Life — February 12, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous comic strip depicting the chaos of a commuter's rushed morning routine. The narrative follows an unnamed man dealing with domestic mishaps: an oversleeping cook, forgotten laundry (formal "soup-and-fish" dinner clothes needing pressing), a rainy departure, and near-injury when he bumps his head on the roof getting into a taxi. The satire targets the absurdity of modern urban commuting life—the anxiety of potentially missing trains, physical indignities, and petty domestic crises that pile up. The final panel's punchline is characteristically bittersweet: while contemplating whether he could survive a broken neck, his main concern is ensuring his wife remembers to feed the dog—a jab at domestic priorities and the mundane details that paradoxically matter most. The comic reflects early-20th-century Life magazine's satirical focus on everyday middle-class anxieties and the modern commuter experience.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ALL WOULD 1 HAD NOT CALLED “TAKE YOUR U At” ADN'T TURNED TO GO BACK. IT WAS RAINING, OF COURSE, AND YOU FORGOT YOU HAD ON YOUR BOOTS WITH THE RUBBER HEELS, He COOK HAD LEFT AND AS YOU DIDN'T Ht NREAKING YOU AND SHE OVERSLEPT AND BREA LATE AND YOU WERE TAKING YOUR “SOUP-AND-FISH” INTO TOWN TO HAVE THE SPOTS PRESSED INTO THEM—BUT WILICH WAS INDISCREET TO SAY TO A PERSON WHO COULD HOLD ONLY ONE IDEA AT A TIME—AND YOUR HEAD MISSED THE SOFT PORTION OF THE ROOF IN BETWEEN THE SLATS. YOU FELT THAT IF YOU COULD ONCE GET INTO THE DAMN TAXE YOU COULD RELAX AND YOU MURMURED SOMETHING TO THE DRIVER ABOUT NOT MISSING YOUR TRAIN, | HN il | | | fl 4 THEN YOU 'PHONED HER THAT YOU WOULD NOT BE HOME BUT YOU CAUGHT THE TRAIN—THEN WONDERED IF YOU TO-NIGHT AND MAYBE YOU WOULD NEVER BE HOME AGAIN— COULD LIVE A REASONABLE LENGTH OF TIME WITH A YOU WERE NOT CERTAIN—BUT FOR HEK NOT TO FORGET TO BROKEN NECK. FEED THE DOG! You and Your Morning Train comicbooks.com