It's A Wonderful Life

Finally, after forty three years, I saw It's A Wonderful Life.  I was not prepared for the type of movie that it was.  I thought it was going to be incredibly sappy and without much entertainment value but I was in for a treat.  Jimmy Stewart is one of my favorites, Harvey being one of my top ten movies.  Though the character of George Bailey is not quite as enduring as Elwood P. Dowd (seriously, who could be) he struck a cord with me.
The obvious question after seeing this movie is Who would name their kid Zuzu?
The next obvious question is, what would the world you live in be like if you were never born?  I thought of that question and it's answer and, well, came to the conclusion that I have no idea.  Obviously, if I didn't work at Walgreens or the hardware store, or the paper route, someone else would have.  They would have given excellent customer service, would have bitched to their boss and would have replaced me pretty easily.  Oh, there would have been those moments, those customers that I connected with in such a way that someone else may not have, but from a stocking shelves and selling stuff point of view, life would have gone on. 
Life on Park Avenue would have been quite different indeed.  Now what I am about to say is not a plea for pity, it is the truth- life on Park Avenue would have been much simpler without the fifth Snow kid.  I mucked things up, I am well aware of that.  Oh, I was loved and spoiled and much appreciated, but if there would have never been me, my parents lives would have been much easier.  Of course, with out me, there would have been no trips to Germany...Anyway, the point I am trying to make is I never saved Dicky or Sheila from the pond.  I did not rescue puppies from burning buildings.  I did create a lot of angst and worry for my parents.  They could have done without that!
I think about Danny and the ripple he has had on the world.  I cannot begin to imagine the impact he has made.  Through the military and law enforcement, his impact is really quite, well, big.  Bigger than I can know.   I am often envious of Danny for this- he knows, at the end of his day, what he has accomplished.  Bad guy in jail.  Drunk off the street.  Meth no longer for sale.
Ashlyn, Hayley and Jacob are only beginning their life long impacts.  I can very clearly see what would be missing in my life if one of them had not been born.  I don't know if they see it for themselves, I hope they do.  I hope that they see the light they bring, the joy, the laughter.  I pray that they continue to see the differences that they are capable of making in others lives. 
I could write for days on the wonderful lives of Danny and Ashlyn, Hayley and Jacob.  But lets go back to me!
Here on Pleasant Street, well that is where I would be missed.  Who would have Barron loved?  Who would love and tolerate Harlow?  Would another woman had been able to love and support Danny the way that I do?  Would Danny and another woman had made such awesome kids?  That is a rhetorical question - it is an impossibility. 
I have a wonderful life.  Though I am not loaning money so that people can buy homes and escape the horrors of Potterville, I am being kind (usually) and helpful (sometimes) and hilarious (always).  I am never going to get a visit from Clarence.  I will not get to see the world without me.  In fact, none of us will ever get that.  None of us will never know all the impacts we make on a daily basis.  So I am going  to keep living my wonderful life and try to make the lives around me, well, wonderful as well.
Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?