Surrounding myself with things that make me feel good is a coping mechanism for dealing with the days when the writing won’t come or the rejection letters do. The photograph, “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” is one of those. You might ask why a cityscape of workmen eating lunch makes me feel good, so I will tell you.
“The McGee Girls,” as we four sisters were often labelled, have lived scattered lives in adulthood and never seem to have enough chances to get together. In 2007, sisters #2 (Beth) and #3 (Gwyn) planned a sister trip to Savannah to get some together time. Sister #4 (Ruth) and I (#1) happily let them plan and joined for the fun. The picture in the photo was featured in the sitting room of the suite we rented, called the “Manhattan Room.” We made quite a few jokes about coming to see Savannah and having a New York photograph as our featured art.
When we returned home, we began to spot the same picture in other places – a dentist office, for instance – and realized it must have some sort of significance. The following year as Al and I celebrated our golden wedding anniversary, the #2, #3, and #4 sisters with wicked grins presented their gift to us in front of the relatives gathered to celebrate – a copy of the now meaningful photograph.
Of course, the picture was one of the first things to go up when I set up my new writing quarters. The feel-good part is both the memory of the trip and the bigger reminiscence of the growing-up life we shared. I notified my sisters that it was in place and received this comment back from #4:
In 2019 there was a special TIME edition entitled, "100 Photographs, the Most Influential Images of All Time." The cover was "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper." The photographer is not known but the photograph is dated 1932. Part of the description inside the magazine says, By thumbing its nose at both danger and the Depression, Lunch Atop the Skyscraper came to symbolize American resilience and ambition at a time when both were desperately needed.
I couldn’t help but think that its symbolism applied to us as well when we have dealt together with resilience from some of the inevitable hard knocks that life offers and ambition when we have shared our hopes and dreams. Now, on the days when things aren’t going well, I glance up to the photograph on my left and remember that there are at least three people always in my corner.