Monday, December 29, 2008
 | Ok...I will admit it. This movie is on my all-time favorite list. I think Jimmy Stewart is perfect in the role of George Bailey - everyman. And Donna Reed is possibly the most beautiful woman of her era in film. Together these two light up the screen with their performance. So, I am watching it yet again. I can't help myself. Like the geese that flew off the pond a couple weeks ago, I only know I have to do this. And despite having seen it at least a hundred times (or more she adds sheepishly), I still want Uncle Billy not to hand that newspaper to Potter. I still laugh when George and Mary Charleston right into the pool and keep on dancing. I still cheer when George slips out of Potter's grasp and calls him a warped frustrated old man. I still feel my heart skip a beat when Bert and Ernie serenade the newlyweds in the rain. And I still cry when Mr. Gower boxes George in the ear, when Pottersville Mary doesn't recognize George and when Harry toasts him as the richest man in the world. I am not at all sure why the movie still elicits those responses. I mean it isn't like I don't KNOW what's coming? But it taps into some archetypal story that I recognize. I have been thinking this holiday about how wonderful my own life is. How there have been many angels in human form and canine form who have saved me from self-destruction - oh I was most definitely set on passive self-destruct mode. And how recently my own "Clarences" have made themselves known to me. I see the places where they prevented me from inadvertently checking out before I got to this place/time. Seems I have something to do here. So best to get on with it. And if I don't answer the phone this holiday, you can rest assured that I am off with George and Mary celebrating my wonderful life. |
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