"It's a Wonderful Life"

I won’t go into all the reasons why I absolutely love this movie, but suffice it to say that as a writer of time travel mysteries, the alternate reality created when George Bailey ( played by Jimmy Stewart ) wishes he had never been born, gives us the first taste what can happen when one event alters time and space. 

In this case, George Bailey is actually able to experience his non-existence and the impact it had on the lives of others, thus prompting him to reconsider his original wish. 

I’m sure the writers weren’t thinking of time travel or any sort of sci-fi theme, but let’s face it, when a single event in the past is changed, every other event changes as well. And boy, do we writers take joy in that premise! Alternating timelines and realities is like giving us a barrel of popcorn. We just keep eating it up. 

But you don’t have to be a sci-fi writer to play the “what if” game regarding the events in your own life. We do it all the time. 

            What if I never went to Camp Bugaboo? Then I never would have met my future husband. (Well, if it was meant to be, you would have met him at some potluck dinner for your office).

            What if I got accepted at Yale instead of just a state college? (Then you’d have bigger loan payments to deal with).

            What if I got the lead in the school play instead of just a walk-on line? (Unless you were planning on majoring in drama, I’m guessing not much).

            I happen to play this particular head game with one single event that happened to me when I was 15. I shared a taxi with folk singer/protest singer Phil Ochs. He was on his way to Woodstock and I was going home to the outskirts of Kingston, New York after visiting friends in the city. He tried to convince me to forget about Kingston and go up to Woodstock with him. Said he was meeting friends at someplace called the Café Espresso. Then he named them. Names I didn’t recognize till months later! Names like Bob Dylan and Peter (from Peter, Paul and Mary). Needless to say, I got out of the cab in Kingston and ran to my front steps. But I always wondered….what would have happened if I just stayed in that taxi?

            Would I have become the next famous folk singer? (Not likely. I already know what would have happened. My parents would have called the state police and the Café would have been shut down indefinitely, thus thwarting the growth of folk music in Woodstock). 

            Not all of us can be as fortunate as George Bailey. But we can all sit back and imagine the endless timeline changes that could have happened. Ah…it sure is a wonderful life!