Reflections of an Earlier Time
The nostalgic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” never fails to bring me a strong yearning for a simpler time let alone a little mist in my eyes. Maybe you have enjoyed this same feeling. Just the image of a small community town and its main street with all the shops thriving and each having a unique personality and character reflective of its owner brings a warm feeling to this soul.
I was very fortunate as a child to have grown up in a small town like Bedford Falls in upstate New York. Presently I live in a large metropolitan city with all its benefits and trappings but recently I had a catharsis of a boyhood image and if you don’t mind I thought I would share it with you.
It was Christmas Eve in the winter of 1952 and I was about seven years old. My small town was unique as it swelled considerably in population during the summer months as it was a resort area. This time of the year however it dwindled to an adequate few to keep it recognizable as a thriving community.
The population was diverse in many ways but most harmonious in our caring for one another. The religious component of our community was unique as about half comprised most denominations of Christianity while the other half was of various denominations of Jewish congregations. Now, let’s get me back to my image.
As I mentioned, it was Christmas Eve. I decided to visit my friend. His home was on
Main Street and was next to a church where his father was the Reverend. Although I was not a congregation member, I just came to offer them best wishes for the holiday. They cordially invited me to stay a while and help them fine-tune the decorations on their Christmas tree.
My friend and I played with some Lincoln Logs and partook in savoring some holiday goodies while listening intently to stories his father told of holidays past. Time moved quickly, and when I said my goodbyes, I stepped out onto the street and was greeted by a magnificent, starlit night.
As I slowly looked up and down Main street, I was overwhelmed by the vision and sound I was beholding. I stopped in my tracks. As far as I could see, only a few last-minute shoppers were scurrying along as shopkeepers were closing up. I felt I was the only one out on the street. There was snow on the ground from previous days, and snow was still lightly falling again, offering a fresh dusting turning the greys to a gleaming iridescent white.
The town again was seasonally decorated in a colorful collage of colors per the festive holiday spirit. All the shop windows were painted decoratively by students with scenes depicting the different holidays, in this case, Christmas and Chanukah. In addition, there were strands of lights strung diagonally from one electric pole to the next crossing over Main St. One strand with red, green, and white bulbs for Christmas and the next strand in blue and white for Chanukah running this way in both directions up and down Main Street with the periodic sign wishing everyone a “Happy Holiday.”
Each pole had a large decoration up high protruding from it towards the street. On one was an outline of Santa Claus, while the next was a Menorah, each pole with a different decoration depicting each holiday. These lights, coupled with the decorations, were mesmerizing.
As I took in this vision of snowflakes drifting blanketing in the moonlight, gleaming as they cover the decorations and holiday lights, the Christmas music and the intermittent striking of bells from various church steeples began to ring forth. Each melodic sound announced its tunes from the steeples of the multiple churches intermingled in the community.
The vision and flavor of that moment I observed have not been lost on this child, and I savor the memory to this day. And as I hurried home, I realized all was Good and Right in this World, and it was Great to be Alive!