ADHD - Its a Wonderful Life

As I usually do over the Holidays, I watched one of my all-time favorite actors in one of my all time favorite movies and that's Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life". Co-starring Donna Reed and made in the 1940s, the movie was not critically acclaimed at the time, but over the years has become a stable of the holiday Season. If you have not seen it, you need to, and if you have, then you all know it revolves around a small town Businessman George Bailey from Bedford Falls, New York, who, as he grows up, has all of these dreams of doing wonderful things with his life, and hopes of traveling to all the farthest points in the world. His plans are constantly interrupted by world events and family circumstances, which include the death of his father, the great Depression, and World War II. George's father and his Uncle Billy years earlier had started the Baileys Brothers Building and Loan to help the less fortunate people of Bedford Falls obtain the great American Dream of home ownership. Their only alternative is high rent or exorbitant interest rates to the local scrooge Mr. Potter. Uncle Billy is a classic ADHD type individual. An Irishmen, like me, who apparently has never been married, has a pet crow he carries around with him, and a pet squirrel at Home. He is constantly worrying and has little self esteem.

George manages to support his family after marrying Mary, who is played by Donna Reed, and having a house full of children. He sees a lot of his friends go on to success in other areas, and gives up his hopes of travel and doing great things, as he is hopelessly attached to his fathers old Building and Loan Business. George's younger brother Harry Bailey has inadvertently benefited from George his whole life, from the time George saved him from an icy death in a winter lake sledding accident, to Harry getting to go to college when George's father dies, forcing George to stay home. And finally, Harry going off to WWII and George having to stay at Home, due to a loss of hearing in one ear from his heroic effort to save his brother in the icy lake years earlier. Harry goes on to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

On the day of the welcome home celebration for Harry, Uncle Billy has eight thousand dollars of the Building and Loans money to deposit in the bank, and he runs in to the notorious scrooge Mr. Potter. Uncle Billy, in typical ADHD fashion, cannot pass up the opportunity to brag up his nephew Harry Bailey's heroics and the headlines in the paper about his welcome Home celebration. Absentminded Uncle Billy accidentally wraps up the deposit money in the newspaper which he braggingly drops in Mr. Potters lap. When he goes to the bank teller to make the deposit, he realizes the money is missing, and having no clue as to what happened to it, frantically tries to retrace his steps back to the Building and Loan. Arriving back at the Building and Loan, he is in a panic trying to tear his office apart trying to figure out how to tell George what has happened.

When George comes in to the office in a great mood due to the upcoming celebration, Uncle Billy tells him of the problem. George drags Uncle Billy all around town trying to retrace his steps. Uncle Billy naturally continues to go downhill fast in guilt and self blame, which culminates at his house when George losses his temper and shakes his uncle, calling him a silly fool, and shaking him, asking him if he knows that this means scandal and bankruptcy and prison. George leaves a mess, leaving Uncle Billy sobbing with only his crow and squirrel to console him. George arrives Home on Christmas Eve and begins taking things out on all those people he loves the most (sound familiar to any of you? - it does to me).

The premise of the whole movie began with God and an Angel second class