When doing a close reading of this photo of Harvey on the History.com webpage, here's what I see:
I’ll start with Harvey himself. He looks kind, “a mensh with a heart of gold” to quote Harry in Leslea Newman's short story, and in this pic, he has a peculiar Mona Lisa half-smile. Maybe he’s a bit tired? He’s known for the tremendous energy he brought to his work. He’s also known for his rumpled suits and disheveled hair, both of which are on display here. I wonder if Anne Kronenberg took this photo? I know she was a photographer, but I don’t see her credited for the pic.
On the wall behind him is what I’m assuming is an SF District Map, although I can’t be certain. But that would make sense given Milk’s position and his dedication to his job. There’s a blurry photo of Milk speaking at a microphone – perhaps taken by Dan Nicoletta? – that looks like a publicity still from the “Milk” film! There’s lots of sticky notes tacked to the wall (before they were sticky) with various names and phone numbers, and notably, what looks to be a business card from a sheriff’s or police department, all of which reflect Milk’s intense commitment to working across a broad range of communities to achieve common political goals.
The most interesting thing to me in the photo is that 50-gallon steel drum! What the hell is that? Is that where he dissolves the bodies? There are also cardboard boxes stacked to the ceiling behind a very dirty and disorganized bookshelf. Clearly, he’s not in his City Hall office (at least I hope not), assuming this is after his election, which I suspect it is, given the tie. Maybe this is his office in the camera shop? I’ve seen some pictures taken there, but they weren’t “behind the scenes” as this appears to be.
So overall, I’d caption this photo: Another day at the office with Harvey.
OK. Now that I’ve composed myself somewhat after reading Newman's short story, I’ll try to share my thoughts about it:
Given the state of the world – politically, environmentally, pandemically – (as I write this at 11am on Wednesday, it still looks like orange night outside) – I tend to cry rather easily these days. I feel like I’m grieving for something nameless, lost forever. I’m not clinically depressed – not any more than any of us have a right to be, given the circumstances -- I'm just easily prodded to tears, usually when watching TV. So when Newman gets down to serious business halfway through her story, when Harry gets pissed off and asks “She wants we should cut our hearts open and give her stories so she could write a book?” and lets loose with the story of Izzie and Yussl, I just let myself feel the pain of having the scab ripped off along with Izzie, and sobbed away in front of my computer.
The older I get, and the crappier the world gets, the more I try to filter what what I let myself think about, since it's just so easy to slide down the pole into grief and despair. In this way, I’ve become like my mother was, especially regarding films and other art forms. I remember once when I was 19 or so, “Carrie” was on TV. I was a huge fan of the film, but my mom had never seen it. I called her into the room to watch the final few minutes of the film, knowing it would give her a great jolt when the soft-focus, beautiful-music images of Amy Irving wrench into the shot of Carrie’s hand pulling Amy into the grave in Hell. Well, my mother nearly had a heart attack and then got pissed-off at me. I remember her saying “I just don’t want to put images like that in my head” which I thought was funny at the time, but now I know what she meant. I fully realized this when I tried to watch “Requiem for a Dream.” It was undoubtedly a spectacular film, but one I couldn’t bear to watch.
To bring this back to Newman’s story, sometimes I think “never forget” may have limits, which I never would have conceded in my youth. Now, sometimes I think it’s best to say the past is the past. The dead are gone. Memories are often unpleasant and sometimes are best left unremembered. As Harry says, “Better to live for today.” This becomes more acute, the older I get.
I find myself identifying quite strongly with Harry these days.
Work Cited
History.com Editors. “Harvey Milk.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 June 2017,
www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/harvey-milk.
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