The spirit of the thing

We watched "Christmas in Connecticut" tonight. I'd never seen it. It is very charming. Dennis Morgan looked like John Wayne with wavy hair and he sang like Dennis Day (only better). Barbara Stanwyck was dressed by Edith Head and looked like a million bucks.

There was a special feature on the DVD, "Star in the Night." From 1945, it was directed by Don Siegel. Clint Eastwood's Don Siegel? The very one. It was his first directorial effort. It's a 22-minute short about a quick-tempered motel keeper out in the middle of nowhere. But his motel was busy on Christmas Eve. You can find quite a bit of the plot in Luke 2. It was a touching little film, where everyone eventually allows decency and kindness to overcome their normal cranky ways.

The motel keeper's wife had a head start on the rest, as she was a good person 24/7. She didn't need Christmas to remind her to see the good in folks. Peace on earth, one person at a time. The real thing.