It's a rainy Christmas Day here in Los Angeles and so, after the waking up and the present opening (the Jew in the house still a tad bit disquieted by the decorated evergreen being kept alive by sugar water in the living room) and some of the food eating, we, the family, headed upstairs to watch a movie my wife, Holly, had managed to avoid for 38 years; It's a Wonderful Life.
You know the tale... George Bailey gives and gives and gives only to find himself in dire straights on Christmas Eve.
He's suddenly short $8000 and wishing to God, quite literally, that he had never been born.
Well, there's an angel and a look at a world without him and then there are his daughter's Zuzu's petals, that fell off a flower she was given and ARE in George Baily's pocket when he's alive and not so much when he's not.
Right about the time Zuzu's petals show up for the last time, there's a lump in my throat... both my kids are leaning forward, chins resting on hands... and my wife a quiet, lovely mess, which is the prelude to the scribbled quote, from the angel, discovered in the copy of Tom Sawyer:
Dear George:-, Remember no man is a failure who has friends.,
Thanks for the wings!, Love, Clarence
And all the above made me first call some family, then some friends, and finally want very much to walk to the computer and write a short "thank you" to the cyber George and Geogina Baileys (who give and give of themselves) that have become my faceless acquaintances over the last 12 months.
2009 promises to be one of the most inspiring, and, likely, most terrifying in recent memory and to anyone who happens upon these words, may I wish for you... when you find yourselves in dire straits or inevitable self-doubts cause you to wonder if its all "worth it"... an angel at your side and Zuzu's petals in your pocket.
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Crossposted with my other friends you should know, Docudharma.com and MyLeftWing.com