It's a Wonderful Life
Now I know what was going through poor George Bailey's mind as he stood on that fucking bridge realizing he was more valuable dead than alive (then again, George had $500 equity on a life insurance policy, so he was actually better off than me.).
Santa's been a bad elf this year. This afternoon with the mail came a letter from the Massachusetts DET informing me that as of Dec. 11, I'll be losing the extra $25 a week I got from the Obama administration. That's $100-125 a month. Since Mrs. JP's out of work, too, that means I'll be making $137 after child support to supplement her $135 a week. At a little over $1000 a month, that won't be enough to pay the rent ($650 a month), the auto insurance ($46+), internet access ($35), gas, electric, food, gasoline, cell phone minutes and whatever else comes up.
They gave me two day's notice. Helluva way to spend Christmas.
Meanwhile, even if I do get my UI benefits extended, it'll be minus the $25 I've been getting since May last year. and it'll be conditional on bloated, jiggling billionaires getting their 6 figure tax breaks at our expense. What a country. I get UI benefits reduced by $100 a month and Rush Limbaugh gets another couple of hundred thousand stuffed in his pocket.
Don't tell me there's no God much less a Santa Claus. This gives us no chance to even celebrate the holidays by buying presents. It'll be another miracle on 34th Street if we'll be able to meet all the bills on New Year's Day. I sent out another five letters and resumes this morning alone. No responses. Since last year, I've signed up with six, count 'em, six temp agencies and they have not gotten my foot in one fucking door. I've never seen it this bad before.
So, sorry, Bad Santa, no cookies.
(Whatever you guys could do to help would be greatly appreciated but it being the holidays, I know a lot of you are stretched to the max, too, so I don't expect anything.)
posted by jurassicpork @ Thursday, December 09, 2010
8 comments
8 Comments:
Ordered American Zen, Kindle, for my son. Will try to do more. Thanks for your blog!
Hey, I appreciate it, marieDee. Hope your son likes it. Is he into rock music or literary fiction?
He likes rock music and reads a variety of things, mostly non-fiction.....loves movies and does some screenwriting.
BTW, I was able to send a donation, too, by paypal. Hope I did it right!
I wish you the best.
Thanks again, Marie. I really hope your son enjoys it. What name did you use to donate?
I'm having some trouble getting to your pay-pal link. Can you double check it or send the email address? I want to share some bucks! :)
Here's your salvation! A make-work economic stimulus program from the Obama administration that will pay prolific liberal bloggers up to $100,000! Yeaaaaaah, that's the ticket...
Child support? Where'd that come from? No possibility of getting it reduced?
I'm glad I learned early to never tell a woman I'm sleeping with my real name. It's been 21 years and my wife still doesn't know it. Just in case, you know? They can turn on you anytime.
"It's A Wonderful Life" closes with George, Mary, and Zuzu Bailey at their Christmas tree. You may not have heard that director Frank Capra's original version had a different ending, sterner and perhaps grander, but that the studio insisted on leaving it out, for understandable reasons. Lionel Barrymore, who played greedy bankster Mr. Potter, regretted this very much, as he thought it included his best work in the film. Here's what we would have seen, if there had ever been a "director's cut" released.
It's A Wonderful Life - The Final Scene
Potter's personal health care attendant (the man who pushes his wheelchair) bursts into the party at George and Mary Bailey's house. The festive mood changes immediately. Just a moment before, we saw the arrest warrant being torn apart and thrown on the pile of contributions from "so many friends". Now the tale of Potter's purloining of the disappeared bank deposit is told, and the incredulous people become increasingly angry as the depth of depravity of the twisted, misanthropic millionaire becomes clear.
Next we see the crowd carrying torches as they approach Potter's mansion. It is the evil twin of the house that George, Mary, and their kids have filled with love - equally large, but almost all in darkness, and without any sort of holiday decoration, neither Christmas tree, menorah, or solstice wreath. Ernie drives up in his cab, and siphons some gasoline from the tank into a large metal can. We see him and Potter's former health care attendant splashing the gasoline at the entrances of the house, including the wheelchair ramp.
Uncle Billy ignites the flammable liquid by throwing his torch into it, and the rest of the crowd follows suit. The volunteer fire department arrives, but Burt the cop keeps them from coming up the long drive. Inside the house, through the windows, we see Potter desperately going from room to room, trying to escape, but it is useless. Uncle Billy watches with grim satisfaction, and we see the flames of the house reflected in his glasses as he mutters "So long, you old so and so."
We recognize other members of the crowd - the same individuals we saw in the "Pottersville bar" scene. There are no women present.
Clarence the angel, no longer in civilian clothes, but rather in his magnificent new robe and wings, watches sadly from treetop level. The camera pulls back and we see the house beginning to collapse as the flames leap higher. The final scene pans upward from the burning house to the starry sky, and we see in Gothic letters the following Biblical quote: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life" (Deut. 30:19).
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A confession: alhough I've presented this as the movie's "suppressed ending", I wrote it myself, admittedly influenced by the Saturday Night Live sketch in which they went over to Potter's house and beat him up.
The challenge we all face is that of continuing to choose life, even while recognizing that we live in Pottersville, not Bedford Falls.
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