Way Back Wednesday - The Wizard of Oz

Beacuse it is the 70th anniversary of the film release, I'll be highlighting an American classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ.

THE WIZARD OF OZ is based on the 1900 children's book, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ by L. Frank Baum. The film adaptation is a 1939 musical / fantasy film directed mainly by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charles Grapewin, Clara Blandick, and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The movie follows 12-year-old farmgirl Dorothy Gale (Garland) who lives on a Kansas farm with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, but dreams of a better place "somewhere over the rainbow." After being struck unconscious during a tornado by a window which has come loose from its frame, Dorothy dreams that she, her dog Toto, and the farmhouse are transported to the magical Land of Oz. There, the Good Witch of the North, Glinda (Burke), advises Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and meet the Wizard of Oz, who can return her to Kansas. During her journey, she meets a Scarecrow (Bolger), a Tin Man (Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Lahr), who join her, hoping to receive what they lack themselves (a brain, a heart, and courage, respectively). All of this is done while also trying to avoid the Wicked Witch of the West (Hamilton) and her attempt to get her sister's ruby slippers from Dorothy, who received them from Glinda.

Like most people, I love this movie, but because I am a book purist, I have always been disappointed because many things are much different than the way Baum portrayed them in the book. For example:

• Dorothy's slippers ARE NOT ruby - in the book they are silver.
• Glinda is not the Witch of the North - she is the Witch of the South.
• The Tin Man started out life as a real man, but because of a curse, he was turned to tin.
• The Scarecrow was only one day old - in the movie he is said to have been in the field a long time.
• Glinda did not save Dorothy and the Lion from the field of Poppies - an army of mice did.
• Everyone in the Emerald City had to wear a pair of Emerald colored glasses.
• Dorothy did not dream her trip to Oz - in the book she really traveled to Oz.

There are also 15 more books about Oz written by Baum and 2 dozen more written after his death.

So while the WIZARD OF OZ is a timeless film classic, the book series offers much more for the imagination. Check them out - you won't be sorry.

The Barnyard Goddess and Flying Monkeys

Continuing on with the theme I started on Friday, the Kentucky Writers’ Celebration spilled over into the weekend. It has definitely been a busy weekend for Kentucky writers.

On Saturday a few people from my writing group attended the celebration at Penn’s Store in Gravel Switch. Penn's Store is the oldest country store in America being run continuously by the same family. This is the same store that is famous for the Great Outhouse Blowout in the fall.

Although I have been a writer most of my life, I am still terrified to read in public. I have been pushing myself more and more because everyone says it will get easier – let me tell you, it doesn’t get easier! This weekend I was in good company, because two of my friends are as scared of public readings as I am, but my friend Tammy found a coping mechanism to help her.

Enter the Barnyard Goddess, stage left …

Tammy thought dressing as someone other than herself would help her get through her readings and she was absolutely right! Dressed in her blue jean overalls complete with gold glitter sprayed boots and a barnyard tiara, Tammy did a wonderful job of reading her great story “Ponies on the Patio” and two poems. She won the crowd over instantly and we were all so proud of her! You can check out some of Tammy's writing in her Advocate Messenger bi-monthly column, Hillybilly Zen.

Of course, the funniest thing of the whole day was when the “tornado” blew through the holler. The emcee of the event was Herschel, also a member of our writing group, and although he had been talking to the crowd all day, he waited to read his poems with our group. There had been a gentle breeze all afternoon, but just as Herschel stepped up on the stage to begin his reading, the wind started to blow like there was no tomorrow! I swear I saw an old woman on a bike with a little dog in a basket and I told someone, “If we see flying monkeys, I’m outta here!” The wind blew the microphones over, as well as the big umbrella shading the speakers.

And then the wind calmed back down just like nothing had ever happened. I know it wasn’t Herschel’s reading because this man has such a great voice – hell, I could listen to him reading the phone book and be enthralled!

We made it through the rest of the day – and yes, I did get up and read, although I read two poems instead of the longer story I had planned. I didn’t want to take any chances on the wind blowing me to Oz.