Paging George Bailey

We saw Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” last night.

In honor of the movie’s 70^th anniversary, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences hosted a sell-out crowd at a $5-per-ticket screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. There is no better deal in movie-going America.

Heartened in this difficult political season by the film’s message – that people like George Bailey, who choose to devote their lives to helping others, can win out over the greedy, venal Mr. Potters of the universe – we headed back to the parking garage with our daughter and son-in-law to begin the drive home.

Only to discover a nasty paint scrape on the driver’s side rear bumper of our car, and a business-card note stuck in the driver’s door window. It wasn’t from the driver who’d hit our car, but from a Good Samaritan who’d witnessed the accident and captured photos on his phone of the offending driver’s license plate and the damage to his minivan.

Which, our Angel Clarence of the evening reported, the guy had spent ten minutes trying to buff out before moving to another parking space – presumably so we wouldn’t see the damage on his vehicle if we returned to our car before he did.

I spent the rest of the night torn between feelings of anger at the selfish coward who’d hit and run, and gratitude for the willingness of a stranger to take action – even as scenes from Capra’s masterpiece swirled in my head.

We talked to our witness today. He’s sending along the photos and said he’d be happy to talk to our insurance company about what he saw. I’m grateful that he cares enough to get involved – and grateful that the visual evidence he has given us may help us recoup the cost of repairing our car.

But I’m still furious at someone who could watch THAT movie and not feel compelled to do the right thing. How could he watch George Bailey give up his own dreams to take care of his neighbors, while actively shirking responsibility for his own actions? How could he drive off and leave someone else holding the financial bag for the wrong that he had done?

I probably won’t get to ask him that question. Hopefully, our insurance company will identify him through the license plate photo and deal directly with him and his insurer on our behalf.

But if I did have the chance, I’d challenge his ill will. And tell him to watch the movie again – and again and again – until he has finally learned its lesson.