Anniversary In The Smokies-Part 3

Monday December 12 was our 14th wedding anniversary and our last full day of our time in the Smokies. 

Unfortunately, on the last day of our getaway, both of us were still feeling a bit under the weather with symptoms of a cold. Paula felt pretty bad and needed to rest. I was still fighting off the effects of feeling poorly the entire time there. So we spent a little longer at the condo than we had planned that morning. But we eventually felt good enough to go enjoy our special day.  

It started with a late breakfast at the Applewood restaurant in Sevierville, one of our favorite places to eat. 

 Although I didn't take the shot below it's the exact view we had of the dinning area. We sat at the table in the bottom right of the picture. 

We try to eat here every time we are in the area. The muffins and fruit spread you get to start off your breakfast is worth the trip all by themselves. But everything else is always good too. 

We did a little bit of shopping while in the area. The weather was a bit rainy and damp but was supposed to clear up later in the afternoon. So we went back to the condo to rest a bit more.

As the sun began to go down we headed back to the parkway to do some Christmas shopping for our grandchildren at a Carter's outlet. 

Along the way Paula took some nice pictures of the light displays outside some of the attractions and hotels. 

Our next stop was the Christmas Village. It's the largest Christmas shopping outlet in the South. This place was incredible. The outside was fully decorated. 

Inside the many many shops was over 60 decorated trees and every type and style of Christmas ornament and decoration you could imagine. 

Most of it was, what I call "serious" decore; not my style. (Anyone who has seen my home during the holidays knows I tend to go for the more whimsical.) It was also a bit on the high end price wise. But just about every where I turned I saw something I wouldn't mind having at our house.You could spend a mint in this place. 

There was even a small toy store, a place to get hot chocolate, and Santa was there to meet the kids.

In the middle of our trek through this amazing village I found a bench to sit and rest. Paula sat with me. As we sat there a nice older lady came up to us and offered to take our picture. I hadn't even realized we were in the midst of a unique photo opp but she did. 

About halfway through the Christmas Village we realized that we weren't going to get through all of it so we decided that it was time for dinner.

Our anniversary meal was going to be one one that involved giving an area restaurant a second chance.

For the 2nd day in a row we went to The Island. We decided to give Paula Deen's restaurant another try. 

Back in May 2015, we had a very negative experience during our initial visit. The food was good but we were seated in an area of the dinning room where the sun hit us directly through the glass windows. We felt like ants under a magnifying glass. It was so uncomfortable, Paula almost got sick from the heat.   

Because the food was so good we decided to go and try it again but, this time, after the sun went down. 

The building that houses the restaurant is 2 stories. The dinning room is on the 2nd floor. The 1st floor is a retail store filled with Paula Deen merchandise and other products she endorses. 

There's a check-in desk to the right just inside the door. It's where you get your name on the waiting list. It happened to be a slow night so we were told to take the elevator up to be seated right away. 

This time our table was on the main level of the split level dinning room. Here's a couple of pics that shows our view of the area outside from our table.

We ordered Chicken & Dumplings, Cheesy Meatloaf and Roast Beef for our entrees. Creamed Corn, Candied Yams, Mac & Cheese, and Green Beans were our sides. 

The food is served family style but its "all you can eat". Unfortunately we can't eat all that much these days. But what we did was very good. 

With only 3 desserts to choose from we got the banana pudding. It was not made the way we like it. For what it was; it was not bad. 

Overall, our second time to Paula Deen's at The Island was a very nice experience. We'd go back again but most likely, only with another couple or group of people. 

After dinner we walked around the area again. This time we did a little more serious shopping; looking for a something to take home to our grandchildren. 

As I do every time I visit The Island, I took some pics of The Wheel. This time it was in Christmas lights mode. 

Even though it was chilly outside, the water fountains continued to present a show every half hour; this time to Christmas music. Here's a video of their dance to "Winter Wonderland". 

I also videoed the fountain during another song; Tennessee Christmas by Amy Grant. Here's the link to it on my You Tube channel. 
Dancing Fountains @ The Island Christmas Edition

The final thing we decided to do on our anniversary turned out to be one of the coolest Christmas things we've done in a while. 

On a very densely foggy night we drove 9 miles out to the baseball stadium that's the home of the local minor league team, The Smokies, during the summer. In the parking lot is an amazing Christmas lights display called "Shadrack's A Christmas Wonderland."

It's a drive-thru display that has two parts. Initially there's a series of fixed displays some of which are animated. 
Here are some still shots of what we saw.  

Here's a short video of the animation. 

The 2nd and most impressive half of the display is a field of trees, lights, and decorations that are coordinated to Christmas songs you listen to on your car radio. Here's what I mean. 

I was so excited about this experience that I went on Facebook live and shared it with my FB friends. 

I also took some video of the lights moving to one of my favorite Christmas songs by a group called "Go Fish". 

Here's a link to that video on my You Tube channel. 

Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland: "It's Called Christmas"

We stayed at the lights display for about 45 minutes until it closed. 

We then drove back to our condo in the fog. After some initial packing in preparation for leaving in the morning, we called it a night. Our 14th wedding anniversary was over but it was a good one. 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and recollections I've shared with you in this series of posts. 

As I wrote at the beginning of the first post, The Smoky Mountains resort area is where we choose most often to spend our vacation time. If you have any comments or questions about this series or the Smokies just send me a message on FB Click Here or email me, RHavens1423@aol.com. I'll be happy to hear from you. 

Also if you know someone who would enjoy this series of posts share it with them on all your social media. I would greatly appreciate it. 

More than likely this is going to be the last blog post for 2016. So I'd like to wish you and all of yours a Happy and safe New Year's celebration and a great and blessed 2017. See you next year.  



  



  

Anniversary In The Smokies-Part 2

Hello again. I hope that you had a blessed and memorable Christmas holiday. I know it was a special one with my family at our house. 

In this, one of the last posts for 2016, I want to share with you some more of our anniversary getaway from earlier in December. 

On Sunday, we returned to Dollywood with the goal of enjoying the park and all the special Christmas entertainment it had to offer. 

The weather was still chilly but quite a bit warmer than it had been the night before. 

First thing we did was head to Rivertown Junction to enjoy a Philly cheese steak from the Market Square Big Skillet counter service restaurant. We found a table in the sunshine to enjoy our "brunch". 

Next, we headed back to the area where we stood to watch the parade the night before. This time we went inside the Pines Theater to hear the Kingdom Heirs gospel quartet celebrate the season. 

While they didn't sing a lot of the traditional Christmas songs, they did sing some very good southern gospel and a cute one about Christmas Cookies. 

Next, it was back to Show street near the park entrance to the Celebrity Theater. There we saw the show I'd been anxious to see. It was a stage version of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life." 

The show was about 45 minutes long and was a very interesting adaptation. It was a musical and used songs from some well known Broadway shows. Songs like: "Money Makes The World Go Round", "I Wish You Love" and most interesting of all, "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life", from my all time favorite show Spamalot. 

After a quick trip through the nearby candy store, we headed to the Back Porch theater, a covered outdoor venue, to see the show entitled "Appalachian Christmas". 

I took a picture of the empty stage as we waited for the show to start to post on Facebook but then didn't take any during the show. I guess I was too busy being entertained. 

The featured entertainment was the Smoky Mountain String band. The four person group included a base fiddle player, a lead guitarist, a mandolin player and a very funny and talented banjo picker. 

They performed cover versions of "Jingle Bell Rock", "Santa Claus Is Watching You", "Mary Did You Know", and a song I was hearing for the first time called "Mary's Christmas". 

These guys were very entertaining and talented. You could tell they were having a good time and so did their audience. 

Blogger's Note: The group had their 2016 Christmas CD for sale after the show but I didn't buy one. After we got back home I wished I had. I did some research, contacted Dollywood's merchandise department and asked how I could get one sent to me. 
The next day, the lead guitarist of the band, Jerry Butler, called me. I was totally surprised and had a very nice conversation with him about the band. We also completed a transaction that got me the CD I wanted. Just a little interesting side story about our trip after the fact. 

After that show ended we walked up the hill towards the village area to get in line to see the "Christmas In The Smokies" show. When we got to the theater there was a long line and the show didn't start for about 30 minutes. We decided not to wait. 

By this time of the day it was getting cooler and we were a bit tired. We walked up through the Village and browsed through a shop or two. Of course the dominate attraction of that area (and to some extent the entire park) is the locomotive.  

There was a giant wreath set up near the train station giving guests a great photo opp. We decided to take advantage of it. But the park employee I asked to take the pic for us didn't do a very good job. Here's our disappointing souvenir. 

 We decided that we wanted to go see one more show and then head on out of the park. 

We went to the Valley area of the park to the open air theater next to Granny Ogle's restaurant. 

We found a seat on a bench in front of an electric heater hanging down from the roof. With it getting colder, this was a welcome luxury. We 

There were just a few people in the theater because the next show didn't start for about 20 minutes. 

With a few minutes until the show started, Paula decided to go looking for a hot cup of coffee. Instead, she came back with a couple of cups of hot chocolate and a some warm cinnamon bread. I can't tell you how decadently delicious that stuff was. 

She bought them at the Grist Mill that was across from the theater. Next time we go back to the park it will be on our "Must Have" list of snacks. 

The show we saw at the Valley theater was called "O Holy Night". There were two stages and two concurring story lines. One about a father and daughter decorating their tree and the other about the very first Christmas night. It was all brought together with Christmas carols and songs performed by very good guitar playing singer. 

It was a very good show that we both enjoyed. Even though it was in the middle of a theme park the production had a small country church feel to it.

We walked around the valley shops for a few minutes finding a picture frame with our new grandson's name on it in one of the woodcraft stores. That was a pleasant surprise. 

At this point we both decided that it was time to end our day at the park. We were both tired and hungry. We wanted to go have dinner at "The Island" our favorite area in Pigeon Forge. 

We made our way to the front of the park taking a gingerbread snack from the Spotlight Bakery on Show Street. 

We drove to parking lot off of Teaser Road and took the trolley shuttle to the drop off at The Island. We wanted to try a new place to eat so we decided on the Timberwood Grill. 

We split an entree that included an absolutely delicious beef brisket. There was so much food that we had enough leftovers to enjoy it again for lunch the next day. 

Of course, we couldn't spend time at the Island without going into Arcade City and play our favorite game, Harpoon Lagoon. 

The Island was all decked out for Christmas and there were a lot more shops open than the last time we were there. 

With plans to come back the next day, we only looked around a bit before calling it a night. 

The next day was our last full day of our getaway and we had some really fun things planned. I will share what we did on that very special day in part 3 of this series.  

Anniversary In The Smokies Part 1

If anyone was to ask me my favorite place to vacation, I would, of course, say "Walt Disney World." But if actions speak louder than words, the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee is the real answer. 

Because its only a 5 hour drive (as opposed to 13 to Florida), it is easier to get to there more often. Paula and I have now been there 7 times over the last 15 years.   

This year, we decided to make our anniversary getaway destination the Smokies as well. 

A week or so before our trip, the area suffered devastating wild fires around Gatlinburg. By the time our trip came up the fires were out. The road to recovery had begun. The rallying phrase "Mountain Strong" and opportunities for donations were prolific. 

When we arrived mid-afternoon on Friday December 9, it was obvious from the many lights and displays that the Smoky Mountains' Winterfest was well underway. 

We stayed, again, at the Whispering Pines condos just off the parkway from the Old Mill restaurant. This time it was building 6, Condo 643. 

For our first night in town we went to TGI Friday's for dinner. We each got the sizzling chicken dinner (Paula's had shrimp too) which is our favorite TGIF offering. If you listen close on this video you'll actually hear the "sizzle". 

Needless to say it was delicious. 

For our evening entertainment we went back to the Comedy Barn for the first time in 15 years.

They were performing their Christmas show. I really enjoyed the trained rescue dogs. Steve Knowles did a ventriloquist act with a real dog as his puppet. While I don't really like those kind of vent acts, his material was solid and very funny. I enjoyed him a lot. 

But the highlight of the show was the two performances of comic, Eric Lambert. 

Ironically, his acts was basically the same as they when we saw him the first time back in 2001. 

You can see part of his act for yourself by searching for him on You Tube. 

His act depends strongly on members of the audience coming up on stage. He's very good at making the best of choosing the right person. He does use some planned jokes but a lot of it is improvisational. He's very good at both.  
After the Comedy Barn show we drove around Pigeon Forge looking at the light displays. We stopped at Patriot Park, to see their holiday display. 

It was a very cold night (the temperature was down in the low 20s) but Paula got out of the car to take these pictures. 

The next day, I was feeling a bit poorly because of upper respiratory issues. We spent most of the day in our condo so I could rest and get to feeling better. 

This was the two views I enjoyed while resting. One was the scene just outside our condo and the other was a seasonal tradition on our living room TV. 

Later in the day we decided to drive through Gatlinburg to see what effects the fires had had on the downtown area. There was an unusually amount of traffic from the time we left Pigeon Forge. It was bumper to bumper all the way there, and it continued through to traffic light #10 at Ski Mountain Road, where we turned around. This is what it looked like most for most of the drive. 

Other than the slight smell of smoke in the air and a few places that were still closed, it seemed like business as usual for the downtown area. 

Paula took some pictures of some of the Christmas lights as we drove through including a great shot of the Space Needle.

 Once we got back to Pigeon Forge we went to Dollywood to spend the evening enjoying the lights and the Parade of Many Colors. 

To say it was cold that night would be an understatement. While we were in the park the temp went down into the 20s again. But being out in the cold for a long time made it feel even colder.   

We hiked up a rather long hill on the west side of the park so we could see the Timber Canyon Festival of Lights. It's a musical Christmas Tree show. 

It was nice but to be honest not worth the long uphill walk. 

The park was very crowded. Proportionately, it was almost at "Disney Park" levels; especially along the parade route. I was surprised given that it was so cold.  

Even though we got to our chosen parade viewing spot 30 minutes before it started, were still a little late. We had to stand at the back of the crowd limiting our view. Here's our POV. 

While waiting for the floats to come past the Pines theater, we leaned against the building and huddled together to try and keep warm. 

 It was while we were waiting for the parade that I got a text message that gave us our first Christmas surprise of the year. (actually, for logistic reasons, I knew about it beforehand but it was still a nice surprise).

Our family had gone together and gotten us a brand new dishwasher, which my son, James installed while we were away. 

It's the first step in our plans to replace our kitchen appliances next year. We look forward to using it a lot.  

Because we were so far back in the crowd I didn't get any good pictures of the parade but it was nice for what it was. 

Because our tickets allowed us to return the next day, after the parade we had had enough of the cold and were more than ready to head out of the park for the night. 

We picked up some hot drinks at the Spotlight bakery and headed out. 

Our anniversary getaway was half over but there was still a lot of things to do. 

There's more to come in part 2 of "Anniversary In The Smokies". 

I will probably take a bit of a break from blogging over this holiday week but I will be back with more about our anniversary trip, what Christmas was like for my family and me, 2016 in review, and my goals for 2017. 

I appreciate you reading my blog. Please feel free to share it with anyone  you think might be interested in it as well.  

From all my family, Paula, and me best wishes for a Merry Christmas. God Bless Us, Everyone. 

An Ordinary Blessed Day

I have to express my appreciation for the blessing that was my day, yesterday.
Paula and I spent the afternoon in our living room watching Christmas episodes of classic TV shows (Andy Griffith & The Brady Bunch ect.) while wrapping the gifts for our family.

We then went to the theater to see the movie "Passengers" on the day it was released. We watched it in a theater with only one other person.

A quick trip to not-too-crowded Walmart, to finish up our Christmas shopping and get the last few elements needed for Christmas dinner.

A spontaneous decision to stop at Blaze Pizza for a quick supper which allowed us to leave with enough leftovers for lunch today.

Then came the "cherry on the sundae" for the day. While stopping at the Kroger pumps to get gas, we got a Face Time call from our granddaughter.

She wanted us to come visit her. How could I say "no" to a request like that? We knocked on their door at 10 o'clock for a late night visit with both our grandchildren.
Finally, I ended the day having to drink Barium for a medical test in the morning. (Nothing serious just a diagnostic test for a minor digestive issue).

It was the first time ever I had to drink it. After all the awful things I heard about it, the preparation experience it wasn't all that bad.
I managed to get it all down in about 1/2 an hour with no after effects at all.

When I finally put my head on the pillow to end the day, I couldn't help but think what a wonderful ordinary day it was. I am blessed.

Now, I know there are some of you who think that this appreciation of such a "routine" day in the life of a man over 55 may be a little to the excess. "But I say "Nay Nay".

I have been trying to convince those around me that life is better when lived with a spirit of gratefulness. That's all I have to say about that. I hope you can appreciate that.

Observing A Milestone Birthday

Today is December 19, 2016. It would have been my dad's 80th birthday. Needless to say, I wish he was here so I could celebrate it with him. 

I have been thinking about him all week. I have even dreamed about him a couple of times. Even though he's been gone for 17 years I still miss him and think of him a lot. 

There are many times in my life when I find myself traveling somewhere new or doing something for the first time that I'm really enjoying when I say to myself, "Dad would have loved this." 

Walt Disney World, The Grand Ole Opry, Rymon Auditorium, The Smoky Mountains, Chicago, Washington DC are just a few places where this was true. 

My dad didn't travel very much in his life. He never had the chance to know what it was like to fly. I have done both. I wish so much that I could share those experiences with him. 

My mom was a bit of a home body. Dad was a lot more adventurous, relatively speaking. I remember him going on day long excursions and even from time to time being gone over night with friends or on a church trip. He would have been all in on going to all the places, I would liked to have had him with me.  

His birthday being just 6 days before Christmas was, to me, rather appropriate. My dad loved Christmas. He was all about the cookies, the decorations, the music, being with family, and of course, the cookies.  

Sure, he was never too thrilled about getting birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper but he loved everything about Christmas. This included toy or model trains. 

Now my dad loved model trains every day of the year. Model Railroading was not just his hobby; it was one of his passions. 

When I was very young at Christmas time he would set up a platform with a railroad running in a circle around our tree. There were some plastic buildings and small miniature plastic people and fake snowflakes on it. The train circled our tree at the center of the platform. 

I remember putting this up every year in the house I first lived. But we moved when I was 10 and he never did it after that. But he talked about it all every year. He was always trying to get my mom to go along with him doing again "next year." 

Today, I finished a project that involved one of the things that, I know, would be at the top of my dad's "favorite things about Christmas" list. 

I finished building and setting up a motorized Lego Christmas train. 

I had been working on putting the train together all week. Because it was a motorized and I had never made anything like that before, I had some difficulty. It was serendipitous that I finished it today.

I got the train mostly to make my granddaughter happy. She loves Lego and trains. When I finally it set up, I decided that the trouble with putting it together was well worth it. 

It wasn't until I was shooting the video of my accomplishment that I realized my dad would have loved it too.

After a busy day where I worked on and thought about a lot of different things, my mind quickly jumped back to my father and the fact that he would have turned 80 today.

So this 2016 Lego Christmas train will always be a kinetic tribute to my father and his love for Christmas, his family, and trains. 

Of course, there are other things I really wish my dad was here to enjoy. I would have loved to have had him know my wife, my kids and his great grand children. 

I could allow myself to think about the fact that he's not here for those things and get depressed. But as a Christian I have to hold onto the hope that one day when God's plans are complete, we will all be together in heaven. 

And that hope brings me back to Christmas. A time my dad loved because not only did he enjoy it, he lived his life believing in it. 

Happy 80th Birthday Dad. I love you. Can't wait to see you again. 

   

  

If "It's A Wonderful Life" Happened Today

Recently, my wife and I spent some time at Dollywood's Christmas celebration in Pigeon Forge, TN. 

One of the seasonal themed shows the park offered was a stage adaptation of the classic Frank Capra film, "It's A Wonderful Life". 

The show was presented as a musical. Because there's not really much music associated with the original 1946 film (other than the song "Buffalo Gals") it used songs from other well known Broadway shows. More on that in a future post. 

The combination of seeing the story performed in a different way and my watching the actual movie a couple of times this holiday season got me thinking (often a dangerous thing for me). 

I asked myself, since "the remake" is all the rage in the movie business these days what would a 2016 version of George Bailey's story look like? 

After some thought I came up with 10 ways (yes, I always have to do 10) it would be different. I would like to share them with you. Some are relatively serious, some are humorous, some are a reflection of our current times and culture, and some are just my opinion. There are even one or two that would make the story vastly different or irrelevant. 

Please take each of these with a grain of salt and a wink and a nod. I am just trying to have a little fun batting around an idea about one of my favorite Christmas movies and it's place in our culture and history. I have tried to place them in order of how it would effect the spirit of the film. Here I go.  

Mr. Potter would be arrested:One of the things that always bothered me about "Wonderful Life" is that Mr. Potter never had to pay for his theft of the Bailey's money. He was the cause of all the problems that drove George to suicide because of his criminal act. Today, DNA evidence would lead to the discovery that would result in him being charged with theft and filing a false police report. 

George would have taken a cab: After getting drunk at Martini's bar Bailey drives his car into a tree that's a landmark in Bedford Falls. Today, either George himself or Martini, the bartender and owner, would have called a cab to take him home. 

Ernie & Burt would be a couple: For years the media has been rampant with rumors about the Sesame Street characters, Burt & Ernie, being in a romantic relationship. Nowadays Hollywood would have to make the Bedford Falls cab driver and cop "more than friends". Doing this would give the scene where they sing "I Love You Truly" together while standing in the rain and Burt kisses Ernie on the head, a totally different perspective. 

The Baileys would not have a maid: 
Or at least not in the way that the character, Annie, (Lillian Randolph) was portrayed. Those stereo typical roles are just not written into today's "politically correct" movies; at least not unless they are to illustrate blatant racism. I won't even go into what many would call " on the job sexual harassment" by Harry Bailey during the Bailey's dinner scene. 

Violet would be getting dates online: While portrayed as the  "popular bad girl", in this day and age, Violet wouldn't be seen as being a "Sex In The City" type girl. She would also be on Tinder just looking for fun and awaiting the guys to swipe right and contact her for a "date."

Uncle Billy would be sober: In the movie, the Bailey family patriarch is portrayed as a drunk, mostly as a means of comic relief. However because alcoholism is seen as serious issue today, in a remake he would be different. He would be sober with a back story that includes: a family intervention, a stint in rehab and on-going recovery. 
This would theoretically effect the plot in that he wouldn't have the lack of clarity that caused him to lose the money while at the bank; the beginning of the Building & Loan's problems. 

The Building & Loan would do business differently: As I just mentioned it was "old school" banking procedures that caused the whole main conflict for the Baileys. In today's banking world the Building & Loan would be doing auto drafts from their customer's direct deposits and making their own deposits electronically. It would basically be a cash free business. This is one of the other things that would prevent the story from happening. 

Bedford Falls Downtown area wouldn't be the same: In one of the most memorable scenes near the end of the movie, a "revived" George Bailey runs through the downtown area of Bedford Falls shouting "Merry Christmas" to the buildings and businesses. But in the reboot the area would probably look a lot different. 

The theater would no longer show movies but would be revitalized as an arts center that hosts touring Broadway shows, road companies and musical acts. 

The Emporium building would be abandoned having been put out of business by the Walmart, Sam's Club and Target on the edge of town. 

Finally, and most importantly, the soda fountain inside Mr. Gower's drug store (now a Walgreens) would be a Starbucks. 

Clarence would be recast: Henry Traver's portrayal of George's guardian angel was integral part of the original movie. In the reboot the part would be cast in a very different way. Some of my suggestions would be: Octavia Spencer, Kevin Hart, Dewayne Johnson, Lady Gaga (not sure if she has the acting chops for the role), Jim Parsons, or Johnny Depp, to name a few. Who would be your choice?

Mary Bailey turns to social media:  Upon learning of her husband's dilemma, Mary Bailey takes to Facebook & Twitter explaining the situation and asking for prayers. 

All the people of the town, check their phones but are too busy with their own affairs to do anything but like or comment on the post. 

From his home in Rochester, Sam Wainwright starts a "Go Fund Me" page to help raise the amount of money George will need plus his future legal fees. 

The page's goal is met but when George returns to home all he finds is Mary staring at her phone while the kids play on their I-Pads. 

New Ending: 

Harry Bailey texts Mary telling her that his commanding officer is threatening a court martial if he flies a government owned plane from Washington to New York in a blizzard. So he won't be there for Christmas. 

The community stays away (the roads are too bad to drive or walk although they did go to the store to buy bread, milk, and toilet paper), currency and coins are not collected in a wicker basket, no arrest warrant is torn up, the bank examiner keeps his investigation open but the bottles of wine stay corked. 

The festive singing of Auld Lang Syne by a grateful community never happens. 

George does discover a wrapped present under the tree with his name on it. He opens it and it's the ugliest of Christmas sweaters. 

Inside is a card that reads: No man is a failure who has friends. Post a pic of you wearing this sweater on Instagram and you will find out just how many you have. By the way thanks to you, I now have something better than wings; a drone with a webcam. Merry Christmas, Your Guardian Angel." 

And finally, the sound of a bell is heard in the room. Zuzu Bailey then proclaims in the cutest way possible, "See Daddy. Teacher says every time a bell rings, you get a notification."

Nobody pays attention to her. They are all looking at their phones.

 THE END

Okay, so there are none of the "fairy tale" elements that are part of the original "Wonderful Life." But back in the post WWII era America needed some modern fairy tales. But in 2016, that's not the type of movies America is drawn to. They are drawn to holiday releases like "Office Christmas Party" and "Why Him." We look to escape to films that take us to "a galaxy far far away."

As anyone who knows me understands I am as sentimental about the holiday season and everything that goes with it as anyone. I just had these thoughts about one of the most enduring Christmas movies of all time. It reminds me of my parents and of a time when I lived in an America that openly embraced "modern fairy tales." 

Would love reading your thoughts, ideas, and reactions to this post on facebook.  Ron Havens Facebook Page