I like to note the parallel between the themes of "Carol" and "Life." In the former, grasping, covetous Ebenezer Scrooge is transformed into a benevolent man through the intervention of three Christmas ghosts: from the past, present and future.

In the latter story, businessman George Bailey, on the verge of suicide after financial ruin brought on by an unrepentant Scrooge-like character, is rescued by his guardian angel, who accomplishes this by showing the despondent man what his town would have been like if he had never been born. At the film's climax, which is not fantasy, the grateful townspeople rescue Bailey with a basketful of cash to pay off his debt in a fittingly Christmas setting. Very upbeat.

One thing in particular I like about It's a Wonderful Life is the Saratoga angle. This is embodied in the famous June 10, 1946, issue of Life magazine, with a picture of Donna Reed, who played opposite Stewart, on the cover. The accompanying article noted that the actress grew up on an Iowa farm and "with a fine eye for Miss Reed's fresh, earthy beauty, (producer Frank) Capra's press agents sprang into action, announced that she must be 'reindoctrinated' with small-town atmosphere. They dispatched her on a weekend visit to sleepy little Saratoga, Calif. (pop. 2,645), a farming community near the Santa Cruz Mountains. The town's farmers and friendly yokelry greatly enjoyed her visit."

As one of said friendly yokelry, I was not aware of her visit at the time, nor were any of the people whom I saw regularly. Ms. Reed was pictured with three individuals: the town constable; the "operator of the town's only taxi" (when was the last time Saratoga had a taxi?); and the "soda-fountain attendant" at the Saratoga Drug Store. At least they knew of her presence and, probably, some others. The actress is also pictured on Big Basin Way "meditatively lapping a vanilla cone ... between visits to town characters," raising the question, were there any individuals around here who weren't of the yokelry or "character" persuasion?

A picture that has figured in recent discussions of local water pollution shows Ms. Reed holding up her skirt as she wades across Saratoga Creek, "local fisherman's paradise," a statement that, to put it mildly, was stretching the truth. Maybe the creek through town was that once, but not in 1946. All in all, the article inspired some pretty angry letters to the magazine, but I like to think that most people, be they yokelry or town characters, saw it for what it was, a publicist's unrestrained imagination at work.

Seven years ago, I wrote a Stereopticon column on the subject in which I parsed the noun "yokelry." What I came up with was "the mob of stupid, unsophisticated country folk." As to the Life magazine writer, I'd say it takes one to know one.

In that same column, I also expressed my ambition to be known as a town character, as referred to in the article. This prompted some of my friends at the California History Center at De Anza College, and in the Saratoga city office, to see that an official declaration was prepared conferring that title. Former Mayor Gillian Moran presented it to me at a city council meeting in December 1997.

One "whereas" that I particularly liked was to the effect that I had done nothing in my life to disqualify myself from such a designation.

I'd say that Saratoga has seen celebrities come and go over the years, but probably none with the attendant flap that resulted from the Donna Reed visit. Incidentally, she died in 1986 at a young 65. Maybe she should have settled here in our healthful surroundings. To borrow a certain movie title, it's a wonderful life we enjoy in Saratoga.