At the time, I recognized the ending clip of George Bailey running through Bedford Falls wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas!" from seeing it play on TV's in movies like Gremlins but the movie did strike a cord with most of us. For the rest of the year, we would occassionally use the "Hee-haw" greeting and "the George Bailey movie" stuck in my memory for years without actually watching It's a Wonderful Life.
Last year, I began to come into a severe depression which temporarily blocked me from the outside world. In hopes of a movie to light my spirits, I turned to It's a Wonderful Life. Watching the movie on Google Video, I nearly broke down sitting at my computer watching every scene, it's just that powerful a movie to get you back up on your feet. George Bailey is a man with a heart of gold and gives so much sacrifice but rarely gets thanks for it. In the end, he discovers how much the town really does love him for what he has done for them. Being one of the very few movies that can get me to cry, It's a Wonderful Life is a masterpiece and is not only the greatest Christmas movie of all-time, but one of the greatest movies of all-time.
Remember for the rest of the holiday season and all year round, as Clarence told George Bailey... "remember no man is a failure who has friends." Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
(and a very special thanks to my third grade teacher, Mr. Richard Friedman, for helping me discover this wonderful movie earlier than I would have otherwise. It's rare you find a man with as good a soul as George Bailey himself as you will in Mr. Friedman. Wherever you are, god bless you and thank you for being one of the very best teachers I ever had.)
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