You might want to sit down…oh, you’re already sitting down…Ok.
What I’m going to say next will be judged by some as heresy…as wrong as wrong can be…and I’m going to follow it up with a confession.
Here we go….
First, I’m not a big fan of the Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
There I said it.
I’m more of a Miracle on 34th Street and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation kind of guy.
However, there is a wonderful lesson in It’s a Wonderful Life that goes waaaay beyond the movie. In the flik, Clarence the angel keeps Jimmy Stewart from jumping off the bridge and shows him how important his life has been in many other lives.
And then, Clarence offers a line that should echo through all our lives, "... no man is a failure who has friends.”
Here’s the confession and connection: In a variety of ways, the last two years have been the two most difficult, challenging and worst years of my life. Hands down, few, if any, of the preceding 63 years have even come close.
However, the presence and kindnesses offered by many of my friends have gotten me through these times and continues to support me.
All I can say is Thank You to: Joe, Lily, Jeff and Jincy, David, Mark and BJ, John, Cathy, Mary Michael, Wanda, Janet, Al, Don, Bob, Mike, Mick, Marty, John, Joel and Joel, Jeff, Bary and Linda, Harold and, again, Lily.
Here at the end of the year Clarence’s observation, "... no man is a failure who has friends.” reinforces the feeling of the season! Take a moment and let a friend know how much they have meant to you this year and in years past.
This is my end-of-year blog…thanks so much for putting up with me during the year…the first blog of ’18 will appear next week and will look ahead to what is shaping up to be a great year!
Merry Christmas!!!