Call me Scrooge

I have always loved watching The Christmas Carole. I am obsessed with the movie from the time Thanksgiving dinner is over, until Christmas night. It started one particularly difficult Christmas season. I had always been close to my family; particularly my sisters.
I had just lost my Aunt (Ant) Jean. She was the mother figure I craved my whole life. Jean knew my warts. She loved me anyway. After a battle with breast cancer, Jean died in my home. She died when I needed that love because at the same time, our family business had hit hard times. All pays were cut. I needed her brand of wisdom typical of the “depression” generation.
It was a time when family either bands together or falls apart.
I needed a good book. Reading always relieved my stress. I was looking for a story of hope. I was looking for a story of Christmas. Enter the Christmas Carole.
I was surprised the book was so short. It was a novella. I sat down and read the book in one sitting.
I needed more….
Enter the movie.
It is a story of redemption. It is a story of a man bitter from a life oriented towards the wrong pursuits. Ebenezer must come to see his actions in life as wrong. He must understand that his actions had their own consequences. When he does, really truly, honestly recognizes the cruelty of his actions, he is given a chance to redeem his life.
I see Ebenezer as a man not too old to learn or change. He starts to live his life at the age when most men retire.
If a man like Ebenezer can change; there is hope for the rest of us. There is hope for those who create realities to suit their needs. There is hope for those who are so bitter, they will scratch and fight to maintain their house of cards. I do believe 99% of people have the power to change, all year: not just at Christmas.
Call me an optimist.
Call me Scrooge.