There's No Place Like Home to Watch my Favorite Movie

I grew up loving The Wizard of Oz, primarily the 1939 movie. I remember watching it on our small black and white television as a young child, and every year thereafter as I grew to an adult. Even in high school I can recall staying home from basketball games because The Wizard of Oz was airing that night. By then, we had a color television, and I loved when Dorothy peeked out the old farmhouse door to see all the colors of Munchkin Land. I know that my love of this movie and all that it encompasses will never end. Even as an adult, I have often dressed as Dorothy, Glinda or a bad witch on Halloween.(I always wanted the actual witch costume, and finally this year I bought an Elphaba costume at Walmart.) I sewed my daughter a Dorothy costume when she was little, and bought my granddaughters Oz fabric dresses, a Dorothy in the box and books. This year I was so excited when more than one little Dorothy came to my door! 

I hear lots of people saying that as children, they were afraid of the witch, the flying monkeys, or the apple trees - and I have to say that I don’t have any memories of ever being afraid of anything Oz. This really says something about me, as I refuse to watch scary movies and have still never watched even the most popular horror films.  I was afraid just knowing that Dark Shadows was on when my sisters were watching it! But my favorite, The Wizard of Oz, never made me fearful. I have been known to say, when experiencing negativity in my life, that you could not appreciate the beauty and wonder of Oz if not having first experienced the dreary sepia of Kansas. This has been one way I cope with hard times, realizing there is almost always something better ahead - even if it's just taking a break to watch your favorite movie. (Which I am actually doing right at this moment.)

I’m not sure when the collecting started, but I would guess it coincided with one of the many anniversaries of the film, and when marketing merchandise associated with movies became so much more prevalent.  Most of the things I have were gifts from my sweet Mom. Through the years, I’ve regrettably also gotten rid of things that I thought I no longer needed. I blame the most recent purges on Marie Kondo. I said “thank you for the joy” out loud to my Hamilton dolls, framed movie poster, wooden collector shelf and highly collectable tee-shirt as I sent them to Goodwill.

Recently I took an accounting of my collection and realized I have much more than I knew. These things have been in boxes in the garage, in the toy cupboard, on the game shelf, mixed in with other prizes in drawers in my house and of course, hanging in my closet. This year marks the 85^th Anniversary of the beloved film, which brought with it too many more items to tempt me. I will admit to going down that road (yellow brick?) and buying some things I probably don’t need. Several times I've stated out loud that I am done, no more collectibles, new or vintage, but then I see the next great deal and I can't seem to help myself. My husband says he loves to see my smile when I open a package containing an Oz treasure, but I’m sure he’d rather I saved the money instead of adding to the clutter.

I'm getting really excited about the upcoming release of the Wicked movie. I read the book back in the 90s when it first came out and I enjoyed it, but not the same way I love The Wizard of Oz.  Now I am a huge fan. I love that Wicked is going to help keep Oz alive for more generations to enjoy. I was extremely lucky that my sister-in-law invited me to the Broadway version when it was in Spokane a few years ago. I loved seeing the characters come to life, and the music, well, it's beautiful. Now is where I must tell you about all the merchandise coming out because of the movie. There are too many items to mention, but a few I have indulged in; singing Mattel dolls, Aerie sweatshirts, Bombas socks, Golden books, one Lego set and some makeup, nail polish and lotions. I keep reminding myself I am almost 65 years old, at risk of becoming a hoarder - and looking to save money for retirement. Additionally, what will my kids do with all these things when I am no longer here? I admit it’s easy to get sucked into the hype and convince myself I need pink and green luggage, designer bags, Stanley cups, and more.

The other morning, I was thinking about Oz as I was getting ready for work, which is not unusual. It occurred to me that a better ending for the movie might have been that when Dorothy opened her eyes upon her return to Kansas, everything was in color. She learned on her journey that there was no place like home, so maybe Kansas could now be as beautiful as Oz had been. But then I remembered that L. Frank Baum very pointedly wrote that Kansas was vast, dark, gloomy and full of tornados. In the book, Dorothy told her companions, "No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home." The lesson is that home is home, without the vibrant colors, talking trees and good witches floating down in bubbles to solve our problems. Wherever we are, we long for home at some point along the way, whether home is a physical place, or a state or mind, or simply, the person you are with.