He Who Has Friends

It’s the holiday season, which in my family means replaying It’s a Wonderful Life, that Christmas classic with Jimmy Stewart.

I used to teach the short story on which its based, way back in my middle-school classroom days. It’s interesting to me that if I refer to "The Greatest Gift,” by Philip Van Doren Stern, most folks don’t realize I’m talking about the story on which the movie is based, but if I say “No man is a failure who has friends,” every single person in the room will know exactly what movie the quote comes from.