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Portrait by Greg Bottali

  • Alison Bert

    • I'm a writer who used to make my living as a musician. And somewhere along the way, I developed a passion for photography.

    Whatever I do, I try to make it meaningful. The best training I ever had was as a reporter The Journal News, covering everything from 9-11 to education and business. Now, as an editor for Elsevier, I try to bring the same journalistic integrity to corporate communications.

    In the previous century, I was a classical guitarist and music professor. I will always be grateful for the opportunities it gave me. While working on a doctorate at the University of Arizona, I was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain and studied with Andrés Segovia in a master class. I performed with wonderful musicians in places I will never forget, like Berlin, Krakow, Jerusalem and Caracas. And was able to share what I learned with with some incredible students.

    But ultimately I decided to return to my roots as a writer. When I was on the music faculty of Syracuse University, the Newhouse School was right across the street. I signed up for a few courses, but a professor there convinced me to get a master's in journalism and make it my living.

    Many people ask me why I changed careers, but I don't see it that way. For me, art in any form is about finding what is fascinating and building a technique to express it to others. Which is what I hope to do here. I hope you will join me.

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    ‘It’s (still) a wonderful life’

    Alison Bert on December 25th, 2007 | Filed under Family, Holidays, Judaism, Theater

    its-a-wonderful-life.jpg“Merry Christmas!” I chimed when my father answered the phone last night, causing him to laugh. That’s because we’re Jewish. Not that we don’t enjoy the spirit of the season.

    Before I called, I was watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the umteenth time, sobbing when George Bailey came home from the run on his family’s bank on what should have been his honeymoon only to find that Mary had turned their quaint home into an elegant honeymoon suite. Below a window in the pouring rain, the cops, Bert and Ernie, are crooning “I Love You Truly.” Yes, Bert and Ernie. They’ve become old friends of mine.

    I first watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Mom when I was growing up. It always makes me think of her in a nostalgic way — the era and the fact that she’s a connoisseur of old films. So I told Dad, also an aficionado, that I watch parts of it every year because it reminds me of Mom.

    “I hate that movie,” he said, mentioning how Frank Capra is always so sentimental. “If you want to watch a good movie, you should watch Ingmar Bergman’s ‘The Seventh Seal,’” he proclaimed. “Now that’s a great film. Or the 1937 version of — what’s that film in Yiddish …”

    “The Dybbuk”? I offered.

    “The Dybbuk,” he said. “Now that film asks some important questions.”

    I promised to rent those films before steering the subject back. “What about Mom? Does she like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life?’” I asked hopefully.

    “She’s never liked it either,” he said.

    Mom confirmed that fact, saying how it was OK the first time, but she’s so tired of it. “What do they show it every year?”

    At that moment, I felt betrayed. Like George Costanza’s mom when she let Gloria Chang talk her out of getting a divorce by imparting the wisdom of Confucius only to discover that Gloria Chang isn’t even Chinese. All these years I’d been watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” thinking that Mom was enjoying it right along with me. Instead, she’s been watching classic films I’ve never even heard of.

    I should know, Mom’s always been more intellectual than sentimental. No lesson here. Other than that our illusions die hard. And I still like “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

    1 Comment »


    One Response to “‘It’s (still) a wonderful life’”

    1. Krumhorn Says:
      December 26th, 2007 at 7:27 am

      I like it too, Alison. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Some people are just too cool for their own shirts.

      Merry Christmas.

      -Krumhorn

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