Every Time a Bell Rings

by Ashley Messick, Social Media Specialist, hot chocolate connoisseur, and holiday movie lover

I still remember watching It’s A Wonderful Life every holiday season as a kid. It’s surprising that an old black and white movie, with actors rather than cartoon characters and a storyline a little older than my years, held my attention each year. For awhile we could watch only when it came on tv and then I remember my dad getting the movie one year so we could pop it in whenever we liked. It’s funny though that even though we had that movie all year round, it was only around the holidays that we would crowd onto the couch to see George Bailey relive the same lesson as he did the year before.

For many, the most memorable quote of It’s A Wonderful Life is during the scene at the very end, when George scoops up little Zuzu and upon hearing the ringing of a bell she says:

Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

It’s the happy ending that leaves us feeling joyful and restores our faith in mankind and in ourselves. I’ll be honest though, the scene that always sticks in my mind the most is more serious:

[George has discovered his brother Harry’s tombstone]
Clarence: [ explaining] Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.
George Bailey: That’s a lie! Harry Bailey went to war - he got the Congressional Medal of Honor, he saved the lives of every man on that transport.
Clarence: Every man on that transport died! Harry wasn’t there to save them, because you weren’t there to save Harry.

The message of It’s A Wonderful Life is this: we often forget the impact that our lives have on others. This holiday season I’m really not sure what more direct appeal for blood donation we can have than that exact message. Your life-saving gift will forever change someone else’s life. In turn, who knows what they may do for the world.

So from all of us at Blood Centers of the Pacific: Happy Holidays and thank you for the gift you give by being a blood donor.

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