REYNOLDS, J., PERFORMING ACROBATIC AND BALANCING ACTS ON HIGH CORNICE ABOVE 9TH STREET, N.W. by Harris & Ewing

For some of us, our daily lives are one big balancing act.  We have demanding jobs, families, pets, social calendars, and hobbies that seem to suck every last nanosecond out of the day.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that none of your hobbies include balancing on your dining room furniture hundreds of feet above the ground with no safety net in sight.  Your safety net is likely in the form of a 401(k) or an IRA.  Hey, how’s that working out for you by the way?

Thanks to NCinDC for this great find from the Library of Congress.  John “Jammie” Reynolds appears to be the Evil Knievel of his day, risking his life for the pure joy of an adrenaline rush.  The above shot (circa 1917) features the daredevil atop the Lansburgh Building here in DC.  You can see what appears to be the National Museum of Natural History in the background which had only been established ten years before.  I don’t know about you, but I’d love to take a time machine back to those days when things were more simple, exciting, and free.  You won’t catch anyone bungee jumping off of the Washington Monument these days without ending up behind bars or in a loony bin.

By the way, be sure to check out the super sized version of this photo.  Do you suppose there’s any chance of the man on the right helping if things tip in the wrong direction?

Max Cook

Hailing from the Mile High City, Max has also lived in Tinsel Town, the Emerald City, as well as the City of Brotherly Love. Now a District resident, he likes to write about cool photos by local photographers, the DC restaurant and bar scene, or anything else that pops into his mind.