Target Village - Bedford Falls High School

The Bedford Falls High School is where the magic started to happen for George and Mary. After not seeing each other for four years, their eyes meet across the dance floor and they are instantly smitten with each other....although it would take awhile for them to figure it out.

In related news, the dance scene with the dividing gym floor with the pool underneath was filmed at Beverly Hills High School. My ex-wife's step-father attended school at Beverly Hills High School, played in that gym, and danced in that pool....for what it's worth.

The side of the box reads, "To help celebrate his brother's graduation, George Bailey wanders over to the high school dance. Before he knows it, he's kicking up a storm in a Charleston contest with his future wife, Mary Hatch. The crowd gasps as they sway. Not because they are great dancers, but because they're dancing on a gym floor that's slowly opening onto the edge of a swimming pool. They fall headlong into the pool and are soon joined by the rest of the reveling crowd."

Front

Left side

Rear

Right side

Photo Friday - Bells Part 45

Welcome to Photo Friday. Here, I one or more photos related it to It's a Wonderful Life.

This week's Photo Friday features the bell at Northwood High School, in Northwood, OH. This photo was taken October 5, 2015.

Photo Friday - Bells Part 8

Welcome back to Photo Friday. Here, I one or more photos each Friday. I will do my best to relate it to It's a Wonderful Life.

This week’s entry is a two-fer. There are two bells outside of the Zimmerman School, located on Carter Road North of Bowling Green, Ohio. These photos were taken March 15, 2015.

Things to be Happy About: Part 1

A couple of weekends ago, Jen, the boys and I took a trip up to Lake Erie to relax and just BE for once, without running around or feeling like we have to accomplish something on the never-ending list of things to do.

Jenn surprised me by bringing along a book titled "14,000 Things to be Happy About," and had me read some entries out loud while she drove. It was a fun process and got us talking about what makes us happy...the little things. It's nice to think about those things in our own lives to keep us centered.

It's been a long, rough 6 months for me and my family, so we decided to blog our own lists. This is a short list, and I will add more in new entries over time.

So here it is: Greg's

Things to be Happy About:

• New school supplies. Weird thing to start out with, I know, but 'tis the season. I love the sound and smell of brand new notebooks and pens, and picking out exactly what you need. No, we aren't in need of anything right now, but Evan is, and it's fun to go shopping for this kind of stuff.
• A healthy family...especially when you don't have health insurance!!!
• Opportunities. Being layed off, I can do anything I want. What do I want to be when I grow up? A dispatcher!
• The opening riff to Poison's "Look What the Cat Dragged In" live. The crunchier the guitar the better. It literally gives me shivers of pleasure and excitement every time I hear it.
• Jimmy Stewart movies. Jimmy was an amazing actor and an amazing man. I strive to be like him, but I don't want to be an actor.
• Arena rock. I love 80s hair metal!!!!!
• Finishing a really good book
• Freshly-brewed coffee: Which I am drinking as I write this.
• An hour of silence.
• Satisfaction from a job well-done. The bigger or harder that job is, the greater the satisfaction.
• Watching your children reach their milestones as they grow up.
• (A corollary) A baby's one-toothed grin.
• A clean house.
• The cracking of the spine of a new book being opened for the first time.
• A to-do list with all of the items checked off

That's my list for now. I hope to add more in a future post.

-Greg