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By Anne Carmichael

Columnist

Since Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was first published on December 19, 1843, the book has gone through 13 print editions and has been a top seller for more than 175 years.

As early as 1916, the full-length film adaption of the book, “The Right to be Happy”, was released, starring Rupert Julian as Scrooge.

More than 135 subsequent film versions have been made to date. Some modern adaptations, such as the 1984 movie starring George C. Scott, are hauntingly accurate to Dickens’ original vision.

Other family-friendly, modernized versions of the classic story are the 1988 comedy “Scrooged”, with Bill Murray taking the ghostly journey.

This 2022 holiday season’s offering is what appears to be a real feel-good extravaganza called “Spirited”. With an all-star cast of comedians Ryan Reynolds, Will Farrell, Sunita Mani, Tracy Morgan, and Academy Award-winning actresses Octavia Spencer and Dame Judi Dench, will once again explore Christmases past, present, and future from the ghost’s perspective.

However, if you have arrived at the threshold of the Golden Years, your thoughts and nocturnal voyages into the spirit world are likely far more profound and a lot more personal. When we reach the final chapter of our life’s story, we begin to critique our past accomplishments and mistakes. We scrutinize our present happiness barometer. And we are forced to realize that the day when the specter known as The Grim Reaper knocks on our door could come long before we have time to pack our bags.

The moral of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” has as many interpretations as there are written and cinematic adaptations. The most obvious conclusion is that he wanted Ebenezer Scrooge to learn from his past and modify his present in order to create a happier and more productive future.

For you, my geriatric readers, I suggest that you have an opportunity this holiday season to choose how you will map your remaining journey, however long or short the roadway may be.

You can either fret about mistakes and ill-advised choices made in your past, or you can revel in the good memories.

You can scramble and spin your wheels cramming for your final exam while living in the present, or you can simply make a few attitude adjustments, become more altruistic, and gift random acts of kindness to those around you when you can.

For your holiday attire, I suggest you wrap yourself in the warmth of those around you and the love that now lives on another plane, for love and memories never fade.

May your holidays be healthy, happy, and may you begin the New Year with the peace and contentment of a life well-lived.