Which means, of course, we're still in the presidential preseason. Yikes.
On to the topics du jour . . .
• I love "It's a Wonderful Life," the iconic 1946 film that celebrates the impact of one man's life: George Bailey, played by James Stewart. I'm old enough to remember when the movie was in the public domain and every TV station could play it as often as it liked, leading to a funny scene in one "Cheers" episode when Woody explained that the local station was hosting something it called "It's a Wonderful Month."
Still . . .
There are elements in the film that would be considered laughable in a current movie. And I'm not talking about George's ear problem keeping him out of the military or the crazy idea of putting a gym floor over a swimming pool (mold problem, anyone?).
How about George's abusive relationship with store owner Mr. Gower? First of all, George seems too young to be working. Secondly, when Gower slaps him in the ear, it was workplace abuse, right? Right? The owner basically punched a kid!
In 2015, Bailey would file a lawsuit and be a social media star.
Then there's the idea that Mary's life would be wasted in a non-George Bailey world because she would be an unmarried librarian. What? A woman not getting married at 18? A woman with a career? And of course, working in a library changed Mary's personality from a bubbly girl to a haggard old maid.
Finally, there's the elephant in the room: Uncle Billy's alcoholism. Oh yeah, it's charming as he loses people's money and gets drunk. Charming Uncle Billy. While he wasn't George's responsibility, George sure was his enabler. Both could use some counseling.
Yeah, it's a wonderful life. One with workplace abuse, sexual discrimination and alcoholism.
• One of my favorite Facebook pages launched about a month ago and is called "Fairfield Memes."
It's filled with Internet-friendly photos that have sayings about Fairfield and Suisun City. A warning: If you're sensitive to the reputation of the cities, you might get offended. OK, you will get offended.
There are plenty of images of crime, drug abuse and disrepair. But the spirit of the page's founder (who remains anonymous) is actually one of pride, echoed by most of those who visit the page.
It's more of a feeling of "sure, there are problems here, but it's my town." Kind of like embracing the dysfunction in your life. To be like George Bailey.
Fairfield Memes, the "blogger" version. Check it out.
• Am I the only person who wonders whether the makers of the old Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils had an illegal monopoly during the fill-in-the-blank school-test days of the 1960s and 1970s?
Why did the tests require No. 2 pencils? What was wrong with other numbers? Did the Dixon Ticonderoga leadership pay off the education officials to make their pencils the only acceptable lead for those early tests?
That would be like having online tests now, but saying they can only be taken on Dell computers, right?
• There's plenty of season to go, but this seems obvious: This year's Golden State Warriors are the greatest team in the history of Bay Area pro sports.
They're coming off a championship, they seemingly can't lose and they have the reigning league MVP in Stephen Curry.
If you're not a sports fan, consider adopting the Warriors. They're likable, entertaining and keep winning. And in Curry, they have the greatest shooter in the history of Earth.
Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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