On Tuesdays, everyone fights over who gets to go to the mailbox. Because the winner sees The New Yorker first, which means turning to the last page immediately. We’re not in this for Talk of the Town musings on violincello mute makers or the long-form articles on microbacilli.
No, we love the cartoon caption contest, in which readers submit captions, the New Yorker chooses three finalists, and everyone votes for their favorites. The brothers have come up with some good captions of their own.
Malcolm’s quip for a bull rampaging through a house was Mrs. Bull saying “Maybe I should have made the curtains blue.” Hugh’s squib for a trashed courtroom was the judge saying “I’ve torn this place up looking for my powdered wig.” Ian makes excellent arguments for why his favorite caption should win, and usually ends up swaying me. My efforts at caption-writing have ended in frustration. Although it seems like it should be easy, it’s in fact way harder than it seems.
As with presidential elections, you have to be 18 to vote. So we just have mock mini-elections at home. Fortunately, there’s no red state-blue state ideology involved. Just the occasional funny bone of contention.
