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To the Land of Oz
One year, when I was seven years old, my brother unwrapped a copy of "The Wizard of Oz" under the Christmas tree. When he had finished reading it, my mother read it to me, and so began a childhood preoccupation. By the time I could read it for myself, my brother and I would ride our bikes to the library in McMinnville, Oregon to check out more books about Oz. The librarian would save us the newest Oz book aquisitions, and we would ride home at breakneck speed to start reading them.
At some point in time we were taken to see the movie at the local movie theatre. Scornfully, we proclaimed that the movie was nowhere near as good as the book and that it didn't show the right Oz at all.
I can remember my mother returning from a church meeting one evening to rush to the oven to pull out our latest potion designed to transport us to Oz. It was a wrathfully swelling, burpling, pudding-like substance, seemingly about to explode, made of some of everything we could find in the kitchen. (Could it have been the generous quantities of baking soda and yeast?)
One of the Oz books spoke of a magician unceasingly stirring a potion for seven years, which when consumed would send one to Oz. Seven years seemed daunting even to true believers. So, we reasoned, why not try stirring for seven minutes, then let it sit for seven weeks? Again, my mother was safely away at the church, and again, we were left to our own devices. The potion was a wondrous creation and seven minutes a long time! Two weeks later my mother noticed a terrible smell emanating from my brothers room. the potion was sniffed out of his closet where we had stashed it.It was, by then, a truly odious creation. His room never smelled right again. (Could it have been the eggs and grape and lime kool aid powder?)
Other books had people arriving in Oz as a result of falling into an earthquake created crevice, or simply stepping into an enchanted place which would take them there. On family camping trips my search for a likely hole or clearing was unceasing.
This year, spring 2008, I am creating a version of the Wizard of Oz, along with Russ Nelson, for my school The Nancy Whyte School of Ballet. What a wonderful preocupation for both of us. The excitement and the joy of creating, of talking ideas, rehearsing, match the joy, the belief, and the visions of my childhod Oz. This brings me to the thought that perhaps , like many things, the ideal of Oz, the magic of Oz lies in the heart, and is manifest when one simply recognizes it is there.
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Created: 05-01-08 Last Updated 05-02-08