it’s a wonderful movie

“So, is there anything on tonight?” Mom asked.
Dad flipped through the tv guide as I washed the dishes.
The cable channels were not working for some reason at their house. I think it may have been something to do with the ice storm the day before.
“There’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’,” he replied. “And not much else.”
“Ah, good movie,” I said.
“I’ve never seen it,” Mom said.
I looked at her. “What?”
“I’ve just seen bits and pieces of it – like when they do a show of the best movies or whatever.”
“I’ve never seen it either,” Dad added. “I’ve only seen the scene with Jimmy Stewart running down the stairs with his children.”
I just looked at them. “What channel is it on?” I dried my hands and picked up the remote.

And so we sat, as I “forced” them to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” (commercials and all).

I admit I had only seen it once or twice in its entirety before – I usually catch it somewhere in the middle. I also admit I have never seen “A Christmas Story” (I know, I know). I have only seen bits and pieces of it – the part where the kid asks Santa for the bb gun and gets pushed down the slide… and the ending. I know a lot of people who swear it’s the best Christmas movie they have seen. They look at me funny whenever I tell them I haven’t seen it. It’s alright though. It hasn’t detracted from my holiday experience.

(I could go on about what I have or haven’t seen that I should have, as far as movies are concerned… but I’ll save that for another time.)

I have never seen “Miracle on 34th Street” either. I can counter with “The Santa Clause” I suppose. I’ve seen only a few pieces of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. I’ve seen “Elf” and “Scrooge” (I think that is what it is called – a musical version of “A Christmas Carol”, which I have seen, by the way, – the black and white version). “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was fun. Of course, I can’t forget “Gremlins”. And there’s “Die Hard” too. For classics, there was “Holiday Inn” (yeah, we’re all dreaming of a white Christmas). A different type of Christmas movie that I saw was “The Ref” – hilarious. I should probably see “Bad Santa” too.

So as the closing credits rolled, I could tell both my parents were glad they finally saw “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

“So that’s what all the hubbub was about,” Mom remarked.

***

Meanwhile, in the real world, shopping is going well. Just two and a half more to get. I just sent out a package to my aunt in Florida. I think I just beat the “Get There Before Christmas” deadline.