I don't know if most of you are aware of it, but we're about a month away from christmas. Seriously...a month, well, okay 33 days. I know that many are staring, eyes wide, mouth agape in disbelief. But check the calender, it's true. Now that you've accepted that nugget of amazingness, it's time to gear up. Break out the decorations, the cookie recipies and that silly tie where Rudolph's nose lights up.
Anybody that knows me knows that I'm gayer than Adam Lambert for Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Some people choose to bitch about the excruciating task of making up a list of gifts for the seemingly endless amounts of people in their lives, ("Do you really need to give a gift to your mailman?!), bundling up to face the arctic conditions of a Midwest December only to stand in ridiculous lines to throw down their hard-earned cash on crap that the recipients will likely sell the following spring in their garage sale. Meanwhile, I say that this is, nay, but a tiny part of the most amazing season of the year, full of a graciousness and caring that is just not there during the rest of the year. Take Elvis, for example. Elvis undeniably had everything that a red-blooded American could want in life; money, houses, drugs, fame and more poontang than you can shake a stick at. With all of that, Elvis proclaimed, "...If every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world it would be...", now that's says something.
I love every single sweet morsel of the holiday, from the holiday episodes of Saved By The Bell, to putting an insane amount of ornaments on the tree; I even like fruitcake! But for me, the season of merriment all culminates with one major event. "Is it the warmth you feel when your entire family is gathered around you on Christmas Eve sharing gifts and laughter" you ask, I think not. "Is it seeing the twinkle in the eyes of your little children as they run downstairs to the tree on Christmas morning" you ask, don't make me slap you.
The pinnacle of the holiday season for me is experiencing "It's a Wonderful Life", the greatest movie of all time. I know that some of you might say, "But Trav, what about Rambo, or Three Men & a Little Lady?", and while they are each special in their own way, no movie can even begin to compare to IAWL. The only way that this movie ever let me down was several years ago. Soon after another tear-soaked viewing, I looked up the movie on Wikipedia. I was hoping to make a pilgrimage to the quint little town where the movie was shot, looking to catch a little bit of the magic. Shockingly, I learned that the whole town was fake, made up for the movie. I think I was just as taken aback by how naive I was about it. It was probably for the best, as I would likely have been disappointed by the real thing 50 years later anyway. I think that the reason I am so sweet on this movie, is that it drives home the point that is so-often lost in today's culture; that every single thing that every one of us does effects someone else in some way. So this year, I beg of you, Tivo this golden piece of Holiday Americana, sit the family down with steaming hot chocolate (don't forget the marshmallows!), and enjoy the greatest cinimagraphic masterpiece ever created. When I say "enjoy", I don't want you to "watch" the movie, hell, my dog can do that. I want you to "FEEL" the movie, put yourself in the shoes of George Bailey, know that none of us are alone in feeling the disappointments when life doesn't go the way that we planned, realize that in the end all we ever have is each other. Lastly, I want you be sure to bring a box of tissues and bawl like a little bitch, I mean don't hold back at all. After all, Santa's watching.
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