Lots of people have time honored Christmas traditions that they get all misty-eyed when talking about. Some recreate the nativity scene, some make tamales, some get their kids giddy with their elf on a shelf thing.
My wife, who loves, loves, loves Christmas, drew the short straw with me in that respect. I am no humbug or anything, but this will be my fiftieth Christmas, so for the most part, I have a "take it or leave it" attitude with this holiday. Perhaps that means I AM a humbug!
Tracy talks about times when as a kid, her family jumped in the truck and her dad, with child-like excitement, drove them up every year into the Uintah Mountains, trudged through the snow, and cut down a perfectly shaped fir tree to decorate and adorn their living room. These days she will bake cookies for us to take to friends and neighbors, sees opportunities to spoil the grandkids, and leads our overall effort with decorating.
For me, however, seeing street decorations go up after Halloween, efforts by retailers to get me to spend more, and getting away from what seems to me should be the true meaning of Christmas, has colored my view of the day. Seriously, the etymology of "holiday" shows it came from the old English word "hāligdæg," referring to special religious days, or quite literally, holy days. The rest of it . . . bah humbug! Right here is where the smiley face emoji would usually go.
But there are a couple things we do every year. One is to watch Tracy's favorite movie, "Rudy." For some reason, that movie just never gets old. We always record it when it comes on, even though we own the DVD (maybe more than one) as well as the online copy at Amazon. It is an incredible film about perseverance and achievement against certain odds. My favorite scene? Well, I got two. One is Rudy sitting on the bench outside Holy Cross College, looking across Lake Joseph at the golden dome, and he opens up his acceptance letter to No-tray Dahm. The second is when he gets on the field and sacks the Georgia Tech quarterback.
Why do we watch Rudy at Christmas? Beats me, but that's what we do. Having had a chance to see some of the sites from the film on a recent trip, including the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes (where Rudy lit a candle), Touchdown Jesus, Notre Dame Stadium, the golden dome, and the incredibly beautiful basilica made us not only love the movie more, but fall in love with the institution. (Visiting Notre Dame . . . every Mormon's dream!) And meeting Rudy, well, that was more than the icing on the cake . . . that was the cake itself!The other thing we do is watch "It's a Wonderful Life." How a box office loser that was reported to espouse communist principles became the iconic show that it is today is beyond me, but the challenges faced, hope illustrated, and lessons on friendship, moral courage and love are timeless. I love the scene when old man Potter shakes George's hand when offering him a job, and George looked at his own hand like he was holding something filthy, as if you can sense evil by touch. I don't think I can go 5 minutes without coming to a part I love. Too many to list. But I will list just a few!
One of my favorite parts is when George rescues his brother, who had broken through the ice on the pond. Even more, I really like the part more when all of George's friends bail him out with contributions at the end, and while the group sings "Auld Lang Syne," George sees the note from Clarence, "Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings." Actually, I love it when Bert and Ernie serenade the newlyweds with "I Love You, Truly" over their first meal as man and wife at the Old Granville House. Nope, my favorite has to be when George uses his honeymoon money and prevents the Baily Brothers Building & Loan Association, the original sub-prime lender, from going under when there is a run on the banks. Or when George and Mary are dancing and fall into the pool. Or when Angel 2nd Class Clarence gets saved by George in the river. Or when George is running down snowy Bedford Falls yelling "Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!" I could go on.
The movie is one of those things, (sort of like Les Miz), that has something that resonates more as you get older. Today, this is my favorite part:
George is at Martini's bar, facing financial ruin because of a blunder by his uncle, which will not only result in scandal, but will land him in jail. He stares down into his drink, and says, "Dear Father in Heaven, I’m not a praying man. But if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God.”Then he crashes into the tree, goes to the bridge, and rescues Clarence.
Jimmy Stewart was later interviewed, and he recalled this from that scene, "As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears."
I almost hate to call "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Rudy" movies. "Glitter" and "Waterworld" are also movies. It's like a Rueben from Katz's Deli and a PB&J from a Chevron foodmart both being called "sandwiches." From now on, I will call them "films."
Rudy and George . . . they will always have a place at our holiday table!
