How "It's a Wonderful Life" Influenced My Life

When I was about ten years old, my father sat me down and said, "Watch this movie with me."

I rolled my eyes thinking it was another one of my dad's cowboy movies. It turned out the movie was "It's a Wonderful Life," starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It was my dad's favorite movie, even more so than those John Wayne cowboy-and-Indian flicks.

At the time, TBS had exclusive rights to "It's a Wonderful Life" and they showed it all the time, much like the movie "A Christmas Story" is shown non-stop Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My Dad caught "It's a Wonderful Life" at every opportunity.

The first time I watched the movie, I was filled with questions. Why did he want to die? Where did Clarence really come from? And the big question, How could a man's life affect the weather? It wasn't snowing before George Bailey jumped into the river but when Clarence granted his wish, it was a veritable blizzard. There is that theory about a butterfly flapping its wings in China and creating a monsoon in Georgia. But I don't quite understand that.

Daddy never had an answer for that last question, either. But every time we watched the movie, my Dad would point out something in the film that he or I or we had not noticed with the previous viewing. Did you notice? Did you see the string on the tree branch when the bell rang? How about? Did you know the oldest son of George Bailey was also in the Blondie movies as Baby Dumpling/Alexander Bumstead?

Daddy taught me to pay attention. Look for editing glitches. Recognize actors from other films.

I have never looked at movies the same way since first watching "Wonderful Life." I still look for editing glitches and try to keep up with actors and actresses and their careers. I cannot watch a movie without looking for editing glitches (and sometimes there are many), questioning the storylines and plots, reading beyond the script, noticing mistakes or imagining what might have happened had the script taken a different turn.

I attended school to study film. I even moved to Los Angeles, California for a short time to try and get work in the film industry. I discovered the film industry was not where I needed to be.

But like everyone else, I have a fascination with movies. They suspend reality, provide an escape from everyday problems and, on occasion, can teach valuable lessons. They can make us feel good, feel bad, feel afraid, feel something and they can teach us how to appreciate what we have and to use our own imaginations.

What they can't do is solve our problems, change our lives, fix our mistakes or make us different people. They can inspire us to change our lives, but it is up to each of us to actually make those changes.

No movie has ever had the same significance for me as "Wonderful Life." It was one of the few movies Daddy and I watched together at every opportunity. It is, for me, the ultimate Christmas movie. The message that every life has value, regardless of accomplishments, or lack thereof, is a message many people need. Myself included.

But the most significant aspect of this movie are the memories it has given me. Sitting with my Dad in front of a fire watching George Bailey pull Zuzu's petals from his pocket, knowing with that one small gesture that he's been returned to his life, feeling good about the life of George Bailey after everything he's been through and feeling hopeful about my own life.

I think the feeling of hopefulness - having hope that things are not as bad as they seem and the hope that things will get better, even if eventually instead of right away - that is probably the most important gift, feeling and state of mind that a person can have. As long as there is hope, there is a reason to continue living, trying and being. When there is nothing else to cling to, hope is a lifeline.

As for the unanswered question I posed to my Dad each and every time we watched the movie, my imagination came up with its own answer. I think they swooped George Bailey up to Heaven and all the angels acted out all the parts. No parallel dimensions. Just suspended reality.