Life, 1928-02-23 · page 23 of 35
Life — February 23, 1928 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes 1920s social dynamics, particularly the "flapper" generation and gender roles. **"Office Windows"** and **"Routed"** are brief humorous pieces about workplace romance and linguistic cleverness—the flapper using slang to impress. **"Just Between Us Girls"** is the main satire: a rambling monologue from a young woman given household management responsibilities. She hyperbolically emphasizes random words in affected speech patterns, revealing anxiety about domestic duties (coordinating deliveries, managing staff, housekeeping schedules) while simultaneously seeking approval and excitement. The satire targets both flapper superficiality and the tension between wanting independence and societal expectations that women manage homes. **The lawnmower cartoon** mocks a Californian's solution to lawn-cutting in winter—attaching the morning newspaper to a music rack as an absurdist "attachment." **"Prolonged Applause"** is a dry joke about Prohibition: a politician's anti-Prohibition speech provoked emotional reactions ("not a dry 'aye'"—no dry eyes, but also a pun on "aye"/prohibition-related speech).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Office Windows THE office windows all Opened on a court Across which glances shot Like gunplay from a fort. Aman in the third floor Winged a girl on the first, And in the intervening space Bomb-wise her laughter burst. And sudden faces grinned Above the wide-flung sashes, Save one who stayed behind The barrage of her lashes. Ethel Romig Fuller. Routed HEY laughed when the professor at me in Sanskrit but their hilarity turned to admiration when I silenced him with a few well-chosen oaths in flapperese. swore “V JHY are there two doors to the cashier's cage?” “He's a double-entry bookkeeper.” Life SUST BETWEEN US GIR “NAY dear, I'm all-of-a-DOOdah! I mean I’m ACtually so ex- CITed I could shuck WHORtle- berries at this point, no less, because MOTHer has sort of let me take Over the management of the HOUSE and I have these tre- MENdous ROWS with the GROcer r TO HOLD. WITH A SIMPLE MUSIC RACK ATTACHMENT THE MORNING PAPER ON THE LAWNMOWER, 5 we) Tue CauirorNian Takes THE Harpsiir Out or Havinc To Cut His Lawn iN Fesruary. SSS voy = and BUTCHer and the other morning they didn’t leave the MILK because ' forgot to ORder it, my dear, and I was s'posed to call up the PLUMBer and I had a DATE and MOTHer was SIMply RIPping be- cause the kitehen FLOOR was I'LOODed, my dear, and this BOY I know is TERribly aMUSED my taking charge of the HOU hold and all because he asked me if I was getting into TRAINing for MATrimony or something at this point—can you BEAR it, my dear? But I mean I’m ACtually all hot and BOTHered over the HOUSE- keeping situation at t point be- cause it sort of PREYS on my MIND, do you know what I mean? But I'm going to SYStemize it or something because I mean if you SYStemize it, sort of, I think it makes it LOADS EASier and all because you have certain TIMES for doing certain THINGS and all only I simply can NEVer think of the right THINGS to do at the right TIMES—can you BEAR it, my dear? Well, ANYways, MOTHer is going to let me try it OUT, sort of, because she s it’s an awfully good WAY to teach you to become PRACtical or something and I mean it’s really LOADS of N because you sort of have a SENSE of re- sponsiBILity and I simply aDORE ord’ring the MAIDS round and all —I mean I ACtually DO!” Lloyd Mayer. Prolonged Applause “LJOW did the crowd like Dr. Weinzenbier’s anti-Prohibition speech?” “There wasn’t a dry house when he finished. ‘aye’ in the comicbooks.com