Last Sunday my parents, Emma and I had the great fortune to meet
a classic silver screen icon: Zuzu Bailey.
Last Sunday my parents, Emma and I had the great fortune to meet a classic silver screen icon: Zuzu Bailey.
For those of you who don’t remember, she’s the adorable, little girl who at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life” proclaims “Look Daddy! Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’ ” Jimmy Stewart, who plays her papa, George Bailey, hugs her and answers, “That’s right. That’s right.”
I have heard that line uttered countless times, usually curled up in front of the television, surrounded by loved ones during the holidays. It never fails to warm my heart and help me to swallow any pettiness, reflect on my own life and give thanks.
So, when I saw that our Gilroy bookstore was hosting an evening with Zuzu Bailey, I immediately called my Dad, who shares my love for this film. It was no question that we would be there.
The real-life Zuzu, a.k.a. Karolyn Grimes, is a delight. She’s at once familiar and welcoming, even though my family and I have only seen her as a little girl and not once in person. But she is Zuzu through and through: genuine and down-to-earth, and yet hopeful and full of faith.
The classic film in which she is perhaps best known for, embodies many of the same principles.
Poor George Bailey can’t catch a break. By a twist of fate, he is left to run the family business rather than fulfill his dream of attending college and seeing the world. Instead of visiting exotic cities, he marries and has children all the while managing the flailing Bailey Building and Loan.
He seems to be making ends meet and keeping the business afloat, when his business partner, Uncle Billy, loses $8,000. It means the demise of George’s business and livelihood. In an act of desperation, he nearly jumps off the town bridge, but ends up leaping in the frigid waters to save a poor soul, who unbeknownst to him saves George’s life.
After Clarence the angel shows George what life would have been like in Bedford Falls if he had never been born, George is humbled and deeply grateful for everyone and everything in his life. But it isn’t until he reaches in his pocket and touches flower petals that had fallen off his beloved daughter’s flower does he realize that he is indeed alive and very lucky to be so.
“Zuzu’s petals! Zuzu’s petals!” George exclaims, scurrying off to find his family.
Flower petals, such a simple, throwaway thing. But to George, they signify everything he holds dear.
I love that moment in the film. The instance when George realizes that it is the intangible things in his life: his family and friends that make his life, well, wonderful.
In real life, Grimes said she has taken that lesson to heart. In reading her book, I’ve learned that she has not had an easy life. Orphaned at age 15, she was shipped off to live with strict relatives. She went onto marry her high school sweetheart. But death would visit her door several times in the coming years, taking her former husband, her second husband and a son.
But in meeting Grimes today, you would never guess the depth of the loss she has suffered. She explains that she always tries to keep the film’s message in her heart: to follow your dreams and to make choices every day that make your life, well, wonderful.
Zuzu, the character, and the real-life person, are an inspiration to me. They are a reminder to embrace life and to recognize the joy in everyday moments.
In a month or two, when I settle back to view “It’s a Wonderful Life,” I will watch closely the wise little girl with the spit-curls who grew up to be a woman who, like George Bailey, discovered life’s wonderful gift.
Kelly Barbazette lives in Gilroy with her husband, Chris, daughter, Emma, and miniature dachshund. She is the owner of Write Now, a copywriting and public relations company in Gilroy. She can be reached at kb*********@***oo.com.
