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What would Dorothy do?Any woman will tell you, it's all about the shoes. For 70 years the Technicolor wonder of Dorothy Gale's glittering ruby slippers have dazzled audiences worldwide. Now, whether you're a hard-core fan of the Wizard of Oz, or just have a passing acquaintance with the movie, there's no denying the reach of this film about a young girl from Kansas and her adventures over the rainbow. For better or for worse, Kansas will be forever identified as Dorothy's home state. I, for one, don't think we could ask for a better ambassador--ruby slippers and all. Sure, it's a children's movie, and some would say an outdated one at that. But, despite the hokey special affects and the sparkly footwear the film has everlasting lessons for young and old alike. Stay on the path and you'll reach your destination. Notice how the Munchkins tell Dorothy to "follow the Yellow Brick Road." They don't tell her to take a detour at the enchanted cornfield with the freaky talking Scarecrow, or the enchanted forest with a rusted Tin Man. In our lives, we need to find our own Yellow Brick Roads, and stick to them, despite the unexpected twists and turns. Don't sneer at helping hands. Dorothy meets friends along the way who help her on her quest. She could have kept walking, and ignored them, but she invited them along for the adventure. It just goes to show us that we never know where we'll find our next friend who'll help us on our own journeys. If we don't have something to say, maybe we should start listening to others. When Dorothy first meets Scarecrow, she's astonished to find a talking scarecrow, something not to be found in Kansas. She wonders how he can talk if he has no brain, he tells her, "I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?" There's a time for action and a time for doing nothing. When the Wizard awards the Cowardly Lion his "medal of courage" at the end of the movie, he tells him, "You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom." How many of us in our daily lives think we have to act out in order for others to respect us as the king (or queen) of our jungle? Sometimes it takes more courage to walk away from a situation than to leap into the fray. Hearts beat the strongest when we're in service to others. As the Wizard gives the Tin Man his "heart" at the end of the movie, he tells him, "A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." Every day we should show the people around us how much we care. True, hearts aren't practical, according to the Wizard, but then again who ever said love was a practical emotion? We all have the power within us to change our destinies. When I was little, I thought Dorothy got a raw deal when the Good Witch told her she'd always had the power to go back home by clicking her heels. Now that I'm older I realize that Dorothy and her friends had to go on their adventure to learn that the answers they were looking for were always inside them. "There is no place like home." For all intents and purposes, Oz is a magical location for Dorothy when she lands there in her house. It's colorful and vibrant--everything Kansas is not. Yet, for all of its beauty, there's no more happiness to be found there than there is right on her family farm. She says it best, "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because, if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!" There's indeed wisdom to be found in the Technicolor wonder of The Wizard of Oz. And, that's its secret of longevity, I think. Well, that and the shoes. Because the right shoes will take you anywhere--any woman will tell you that. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.
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