The moment I enjoy most in Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life is the madhouse scene at the end of the movie where everyone and their brother are coming out of the woodwork to help George Bailey get the money so that the bank shortage can be made good and he won’t be arrested.

His wife Mary shows up with a wicker washer basket full of dollars and coin and is at the head of a line of folks eager to help. There’s Mr. Gower the druggist, who was saved from jail by George when he was just a boy, coming in and boasting he had collected on the drug store’s charge accounts. The Bailey family’s life long maid Annie throws some money in the pot declaring “I was going to save this for a divorce if I ever got married!” Mr. Martini the bar owner, a man George helped finance a home, arrives declaring that he “busted the juke box” in order to help George.

Then, the telegram from George’s lifelong friend Sam Wainwright whose local office was instructed ” to advance you up to twenty-five thousand dollars, stop. Hee Haw and Merry Christmas!”

If you’re not weeping by then, you are made of sterner stuff than I, gentle readers.

Finally, George’s brother Harry arrives. Harry, who lived the life George was forced to sacrifice to keep the Building and Loan business together. Harry, the Congressional Medal of Honor winner who wouldn’t be alive at all except his brother George saved him from drowning when they were little boys.

It is left to Harry to deliver the best line of the movie: “A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town.”

And that, my friends, is what it’s all about. The outpouring of support my just concluded blog fundraiser elicited was more than just a testament to your generosity. It was, at bottom, an act of faith and, dare I say, of love. To say that it is better to give than receive is something we’ve all heard since we were kids. Our parents drummed it into us. Our preachers, priests, rabbis, nuns, friars, monks, and imams beat it into us – figuratively and, in some cases, literally.

But for you to open your hearts in such a tangible, earthly way and share with someone the fruits of your labor has been the most humbling experience of my 53 years on this earth. After all, Sue and I weren’t in danger of starving to death or getting thrown out into the street. Your gift was the lifeblood to feed the dreams of a middle aged man who wants a chance to do something in life he finds enjoyable, rewarding, fulfilling, even exhilarating. And if my writing can give back some of the joy and happiness your gift has given to us, I hope you will consider it a fair exchange.

I don’t exactly feel like the inmate who has gotten a last minute reprieve. More like a drowning man who has been thrown a life line. The gift of that life line has enabled Sue and I to catch up on all our bills with a little left over for something I’ve been promising for a couple of years.

In the next month or so, the wonderful web designers at EWebscapes will come up with a new design and a new site for me. A new design – and a new name. Not quite sure what exactly it will be yet. But Right Wing Nuthouse will be retired – with honors. The name has served its purpose well of drawing attention to me. From here on out, my writing will have to serve that purpose.

The gift you have given me – this new lease on life- will not be wasted I assure you. Look for a greatly expanded presence of my writing on the web in the very near future at a couple of different sites. You never know just where I might turn up.

Again, Sue joins me in thanking you all from our hearts.

Rick Moran
Proprietor