Classic
movie has a special message...
Wonderful Life. The main character,
George (portrayed by Jimmy Stewart), is a likable young man who
would do anything for anybody. His main goal however, is to go out
and see the world, and get away from his hometown of Bedford
Falls, New York. Circumstances
seem to always prevent George from getting away and after he is
wed to Mary (actress Donna Reed), he becomes a father and is never
able to leave Bedford Falls. As the president of a little savings
and loan company, he becomes content with helping the local
citizens get ahead in life. Most of George's time is spent
fighting the villain, old man Potter, who is trying to buy up
everything in town — in an effort to keep the poor folks renting
from him and living in his slums. The
movie has a message and it's a good one at this special time of
the year, or anytime for that matter. Treat others as you would
like to be treated — giving is better than taking — there is a
God and He loves us all. George Bailey soon realized that all
these things are true. At
the lowest point in his life, when he is falsely accused of
embezzling The
story goes that if Clarence could do a good job of turning
George's life around, he could finally earn his angel wings. This
unlikely heavenly messenger, who claimed to be over 200 years old,
showed George Bailey what the world would have been like if he
(Bailey) had never been born. This is something that we should all
ponder — what would the world be like, had we never been
born? George
found out that indeed his life did make a difference. One of the
many special moments in the film occurs when Clarence and George
find themselves at the local graveyard. One of the headstones has
the name "Harry Bailey" engraved on it — the age at
death being around nine or ten years old. George
stares, unbelievingly, at the headstone, because this was his
little brother — and he knew he had saved Harry from drowning
when Harry was about that age. It seems Harry went on to be a
fighter pilot in World War II. He shot down an enemy plane just as
it was about to attack a ship carrying some 1500 soldiers. The tenderhearted old angel reminded George that because he got his wish of never being born, he wasn't around to save Harry. And because Harry had died, he wasn't there to save the 1500 men from the
attack and as a result, they all perished. I guess most people don't take the time to consider these things, but they are so true. We are all important — every one of us! From the poorest to the richest, we all touch someone else's life. What we do or the things we say, no matter how insignificant they may seem, can leave a lasting impression on others. It
took an old movie, released during the Christmas holiday in 1946,
to make me aware of just how much we all need one another. It's
a Wonderful Life director Frank Capra said it best: "Each
man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around
it leaves an awful hole." When
our kids were little, it was a rule that It's a Wonderful Life
would be viewed at least once during the holidays. It's a
tradition that I hope they will pass on to their children. The
classic film will probably be on television sometime before
Christmas Eve. If you've never seen it, I encourage you to do so
— it has a happy ending. Merry
Christmas and God Bless.
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This
fictional scenario is played out in one of my favorite movies —
Frank Capra's, It's a
funds from the savings and loan, George keeps wishing he had never
been born. He decides to commit suicide by leaping from a bridge.
And he may have done so, had not God intervened and sent him an
Angel by the name of Clarence. You see, Clarence jumped off the
bridge before George and the would-be suicide attempt was
prevented. In fact, George jumped in and saved Clarence.