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| I couldn't resist borrowing the ad placard at the Woodlands Mall. |
Good morning and welcome to another day where you find me scratching out stuff to share. It is Friday, December 4, 2020, and, I do hope and pray you and yours are well. Our Santa and Mrs. Claus 2020 venture begins this evening with a three-hour stint over at a large subdivision here in our area. We will be in the studio all day tomorrow and I understand they have it pretty much booked solid. Sunday afternoon we do our first-ever Christmas-themed birthday party and then on Monday evening, we do one of two Chick-fil-A locations. After that, we can catch our breath before we get back to it the next Thursday. Yesterday, we had a short visit with the mall Santa and found him to be a most wonderful person. He said he started out with the mask but found it hard to breathe. He switched to a clear plastic shield. We parted and wished each other God's speed as we do understand there are associated risks involved in being Santa this year. That is the truth. Yes. I know Dr. Falci assured the children that Santa had an inherent immunity and they need not worry about him and his health. "Dear Dr. Falci, based on my contacts within the professional Santa community, I know of several Santas who have contracted COVID and passed away this year. Just so you know."
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007
"It's A Wonderful Life"
This past Tuesday evening my wife and I celebrated our 43rd wedding annive
rsary by going to see the live stage performance of a musical adaptation of the famous 
Christmas movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life”. My wife had purchased the tickets earlier because she knew this was one of my all-time favorite movies. The show followed the same basic storyline from the movie but was presented through a song and dance format. The movie has nothing to fear from the live presentation but what a wonderful tribute to see something done so well with a live orchestra, a wonderful cast, in an outstanding theatre setting.
The movie was made in 90 days in 1946, the year I was born. It was based on a short story entitled “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Af
ter failing to find a publisher, Stern sent out 200 of his 4,000-word stories as Christmas cards in December 1943. One of them fell into the hands of RKO Pictures who showed it to Cary Grant who was immediately interested in playing the lead role if it was turned into a movie. The motion picture rights were purchased and after several attempts to develop a screenplay it was sold off to Frank Capra in 1945. Mr. Capra did pick up the ball and ended up producing and directing the film.
It
went into general release in January of 1947 and was not well received, finishing 26th overall in revenues that year. The movie itself garnered five academy award nominations but did not win any. In fact, the movie did not make back its six million dollar break-even target. Many believe that people coming out of WWII were not prepared to see the painful portrayal of the dark side of life without George Bailey. It was Mr. Capra’s all-time favorite film including those he directed that did win five academy awards. It was also Jimmy Stewart’s favorite movie out of all those he headlined.
In the mid-1970s there were issues regarding a lapse of the copyright,
therefore, the television networks picked up the movie and showed it at Christmas time. Suddenly, the movie was discovered by an entirely new generation and it now ranks as one of the greatest films ever made and was recently ranked by experts as the number one inspirational film of all time. Our family picked up on it during the ’70s and watching it became a tradition as part of our family Christmas. Later we purchased the VHS version and now we have the DVD. Capra lived until 1991, therefore, he did live to see his great American classic finally vindicated.
It
’s a great tale with a tremendous moral to the story. A life given in pursuit of helping others is a life worth living! I recently read a tribute where I was reminded of the importance of the ‘dash’. The memorial said this man had made the most of the dash between the birth date and his death date as listed on his tombstone. When you think about it, that’s what “It’s A Wonderful Life” is all about: Taking all that happens in life, the good, the bad, the ugly, disappointments, and all the challenges that occur in the ‘dash’ and making the most of the life you have been given.
Jesus was once asked about the greatest of all commandments and He
responded by saying that loving God as our first priority is the greatest of all commands, but loving others is also essential if we are to fulfill the meaning behind God’s purpose for us. Therefore, let’s get to work on the ‘dash’ which will one day define our legacy. Amen. …….More later.
rsary by going to see the live stage performance of a musical adaptation of the famous 
Christmas movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life”. My wife had purchased the tickets earlier because she knew this was one of my all-time favorite movies. The show followed the same basic storyline from the movie but was presented through a song and dance format. The movie has nothing to fear from the live presentation but what a wonderful tribute to see something done so well with a live orchestra, a wonderful cast, in an outstanding theatre setting.The movie was made in 90 days in 1946, the year I was born. It was based on a short story entitled “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Af
ter failing to find a publisher, Stern sent out 200 of his 4,000-word stories as Christmas cards in December 1943. One of them fell into the hands of RKO Pictures who showed it to Cary Grant who was immediately interested in playing the lead role if it was turned into a movie. The motion picture rights were purchased and after several attempts to develop a screenplay it was sold off to Frank Capra in 1945. Mr. Capra did pick up the ball and ended up producing and directing the film.It
went into general release in January of 1947 and was not well received, finishing 26th overall in revenues that year. The movie itself garnered five academy award nominations but did not win any. In fact, the movie did not make back its six million dollar break-even target. Many believe that people coming out of WWII were not prepared to see the painful portrayal of the dark side of life without George Bailey. It was Mr. Capra’s all-time favorite film including those he directed that did win five academy awards. It was also Jimmy Stewart’s favorite movie out of all those he headlined.In the mid-1970s there were issues regarding a lapse of the copyright,
therefore, the television networks picked up the movie and showed it at Christmas time. Suddenly, the movie was discovered by an entirely new generation and it now ranks as one of the greatest films ever made and was recently ranked by experts as the number one inspirational film of all time. Our family picked up on it during the ’70s and watching it became a tradition as part of our family Christmas. Later we purchased the VHS version and now we have the DVD. Capra lived until 1991, therefore, he did live to see his great American classic finally vindicated.It
’s a great tale with a tremendous moral to the story. A life given in pursuit of helping others is a life worth living! I recently read a tribute where I was reminded of the importance of the ‘dash’. The memorial said this man had made the most of the dash between the birth date and his death date as listed on his tombstone. When you think about it, that’s what “It’s A Wonderful Life” is all about: Taking all that happens in life, the good, the bad, the ugly, disappointments, and all the challenges that occur in the ‘dash’ and making the most of the life you have been given.Jesus was once asked about the greatest of all commandments and He
responded by saying that loving God as our first priority is the greatest of all commands, but loving others is also essential if we are to fulfill the meaning behind God’s purpose for us. Therefore, let’s get to work on the ‘dash’ which will one day define our legacy. Amen. …….More later.
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