--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My favorite optimist was an American who…" description: "\"My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard him say, 'So F..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg" --- # My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the… ![“My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard him say, 'So Far, so good.'” quote by John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg) > “My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard him say, 'So Far, so good.'” [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in danger, humor can provide comfort and perspective. **In simple terms:** Humor eases fear in risky moments. Key Takeaway Find humor in adversity. Themes humor courage perspective Mood lighthearted thoughtful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - dangerous tasks - public speaking - stressful events - personal crises Key Concepts existentialism dark comedy Questions to Reflect On - When can humor help? - When might it be harmful? A Different Perspective Humor may seem inappropriate in serious contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empire state building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empire-state-building/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) ## Related quotes > [“... and left decimated. Not for myself, but for all the single women out there trying to date. I wanted to run to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/and-left-decimated-not-for-myself-but-for-all-the-single-women-out/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [The Empire State Building is the closest thing to heaven in this city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kerr/the-empire-state-building-is-the-closest-thing-to-heaven-in-this-city/) [Deborah Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kerr/) > [the Empire State Building was tall. So what? Just proved New York builders didn't know when to stop at a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-l-rice/the-empire-state-building-was-tall-so-what-just-proved-new-york/) [Craig L. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-l-rice/) > [“ See what happens when you abuse steroids? Dudes should have read the warning label. First the penis shrinks, then the sentence structure deteriorates.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/see-what-happens-when-you-abuse-steroids-dudes-should-have-read-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I knew a girl so ugly, I took her to the top of the Empire State building and planes started to attack her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-knew-a-girl-so-ugly-i-took-her-to-the-top-of-the-empire-state/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Overall, The Population Bomb was probably too optimistic. I was writing about climate change - Anne and I actually wrote the book. We discussed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/overall-the-population-bomb-was-probably-too-optimistic-i-was-writing/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [Eddie Fisher married to Elizabeth Taylor is like me trying to wash the Empire State Building with a bar of soap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/eddie-fisher-married-to-elizabeth-taylor-is-like-me-trying-to-wash/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“But sometimes, I feel like something's missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. That little something extra. Excitement. A challenge. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-michele/but-sometimes-i-feel-like-something-s-missing-and-i-can-t-quite-put/) [Beth Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-michele/) > [Owning great landmarks such as the Empire State Building or Trump Tower or the General Motors Building or the Plaza Hotel - there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/owning-great-landmarks-such-as-the-empire-state-building-or-trump/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Everyone knows what a penny dropped form the top of the Empire State Building can do. So if it started to rain pennies, millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mcdonell/everyone-knows-what-a-penny-dropped-form-the-top-of-the-empire-state/) [Nick McDonell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mcdonell/) > [“Our society was utterly, ruinously derivative (although the word derivative as a criticism is itself derivative). We were the first human beings who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-society-was-utterly-ruinously-derivative-although-the-word/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Nerd boy? Where he? (Biff) 'Okay... sad that they couldn’t even form a complete sentence. See what happens when you abuse steroids? Dudes should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/nerd-boy-where-he-biff-okay-sad-that-they-couldn-t-even-form-a/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“You can build the Empire State Building. Train the Prussian army. Elevate the hierarchy of a totalitarian state higher than the throne of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-can-build-the-empire-state-building-train-the-prussian-army/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [When I first came to New York City, what I was thrilled about was not the Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/when-i-first-came-to-new-york-city-what-i-was-thrilled-about-was-not/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [“The taxi stand was only an open shelter, so I was freezing as I looked toward midtown. I could see the RCA building with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-antonelli/the-taxi-stand-was-only-an-open-shelter-so-i-was-freezing-as-i-looked/) Lou Antonelli ## More by John McGahern > [“They'd listen silenty, with grave faces: but once they'd turn to each other they'd smile cruelly. He couldn't have it both ways. He'd put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/they-d-listen-silenty-with-grave-faces-but-once-they-d-turn-to-each/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…But all life turns away from its own eventual hopelessness, leaving insomnia and its night to lovers and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/but-all-life-turns-away-from-its-own-eventual-hopelessness-leaving/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact that there are no formal manners. I mean some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/yes-but-also-one-of-the-problems-for-a-novelist-in-ireland-is-the/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [The imagination demands that life be told slant because of its need of distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/the-imagination-demands-that-life-be-told-slant-because-of-its-need/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“When a long abuse of power is corrected, it is generally replaced by an opposite violence. In the new dispensation all that was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-a-long-abuse-of-power-is-corrected-it-is-generally-replaced-by/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/but-that-private-world-once-it-s-dramatised-doesn-t-live-again-until/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/yes-though-i-have-nothing-but-gratitude-for-my-upbringing-in-the/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I'd much prefer to write more quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-d-much-prefer-to-write-more-quickly/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“McGahern still lives on and works a farm in Leitrim, and friends say that even though he has held high profile academic posts round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/mcgahern-still-lives-on-and-works-a-farm-in-leitrim-and-friends-say/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Everything that we inherit, the rain, the skies, the speech, and anybody who works in the English language in Ireland knows that there's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/everything-that-we-inherit-the-rain-the-skies-the-speech-and-anybody/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-i-start-to-write-words-have-become-physical-presence-it-was-to/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Without the book business it would be difficult or impossible for true books to find their true readers and without that solitary (and potentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/without-the-book-business-it-would-be-difficult-or-impossible-for/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I suppose . . . in writing you can't have regrets. I mean, you just get it down the way it was . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-suppose-in-writing-you-can-t-have-regrets-i-mean-you-just-get-it/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…only then did I wake out of the book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/only-then-did-i-wake-out-of-the-book/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community. The dominant units in Irish society are the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/amongst-women-concentrated-on-the-family-and-the-new-book/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) [Explore all 58 John McGahern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard him say, 'So Far, so good.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John McGahern" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/john-mcgahern-11742_building_my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who_199806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd…” — John McGahern", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John McGahern", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My favorite optimist was an American...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```