The cottage landed with a thud as the violent cloud
encircling it, dropped it to the ground. It was as though the hands that
grabbed the small house released its cold, wet grip. The event seemed like hours of tumultuous
travel, but the upheaval in reality lasted only a few minutes. In those brief moments, the sole occupant of
the house seemed to be transported across time and space.
Far from home, as she knew it, the young girl cautiously
opened the door of the foundationless abode and contemplated the scene before
her eyes. The road was paved with bricks
painted with yellow sunshine. The sweet
smelling gardens were in glorious bloom.
Rainbow colors were well represented.
Bluebirds were circling overhead.
At first she thought she had hit her head but then she realized the
birds were real and seemed to beckon to her to step outside the damaged door
frame. If it hadn’t been for the broken
door, she would have thought she had died and gone to heaven. But, no promised pearly gates were visible.
The confused girl bravely stepped outside into the new
surroundings. The cottage was a total
loss but she was all in one piece. The
bluebirds chirped a song that vaguely sounded familiar. She didn’t remember all the words, but she
was certain rainbows and longing for happiness were part of the lyrics.
At first frightened at the thought of being alone in a
strangely beautiful place, she suddenly was greeted by a chorus of well
wishers. Although still a bit unsettled
by the unexpected relocation, she knew full well she was not in Kansas
anymore. No one dressed in such clothing
there. Black, white and gray were the only colors she could remember from
there. So, she acknowledged the
colorfully clothed but small statured crowd with a half a smile.
The assembly, observing the uncertainty in her expression,
immediately moved to ease her concerns. Their
voices reminded her of a nanny she once had.
They introduced themselves as residents of Munchkin Land. The mayor had a funny round head and, a
little man, dressed in black, had the most important job in the land so they
told her. All the girl knew was that
when he read from a scroll, the whole lot of them cheered. The young girl was
relieved that these people, though odd in shape, were friendly. When they asked of her name, she replied, “My
name is Dorothy. I am from Kansas .” You could hear some snickering as not one of
them had ever heard of Kansas, although they did know of an Arkansas. Dorothy hailed from a small farming community. She apologized for not calling before she
dropped in on them but she said that the trip was completely unexpected and not
in her control. She did not plan to
stay because she had to get home and tell her aunt how sorry she was for some
curse words she said.
Dorothy’s arrival in Munchkin Land was simultaneous with the
death of a tyrant. They seemed to think
that Dorothy had something to do with it so they treated her like royalty. But, Dorothy was adamant that the events were
purely coincidental. That man in the
little black hat read an important announcement and then cautioned people to be
on high alert. Since Munchkin Land was
such a colorful place, the alert system involved numbers. It was odd to Dorothy that such a beautiful
place would suffer from anything close to a witch, but she was new to the area.
After all, even bad guys have family and friends who love them Dorothy
thought. She kept those thoughts
private.
Upon a suggestion by the beautiful and worthy benefactor of
Munchkin Land, Dorothy did not stay past the lunch hour.
With clearly stated verbal directions to stay on the yellow
bricked road, Dorothy set off on her journey to the transportation center in
the next land over. She could catch a
plane from there.or at least a ride in balloon.
The Munchkins were so thoughtful, practical and fashion conscious when
it came to color, that they gave Dorothy a pair of red rhinestoned shoes just
right for the walk. Dorothy laughed to
herself as she thought of one of her favorite friends who was a singer back
home. Dorothy felt like a “rhinestoned
cowboy” but without the horse to ride on.
No matter, the shoes fit so well she thought she was wearing
slippers. The Munchkins told her that,
contrary to popular opinion, leaving Munchkin Land would help her to see greener
pastures. Dorothy had no reason not to believe
them since they treated her with grace and honor up to this point. The mayor and the benefactor, dressed in
Christian Dior pink escorted her to the edge of the land. Dorothy felt a slight breeze as they waved
their arms over her as was the custom.
Dorothy, being from Kansas, where the winds can turn at any
moment as she was well aware, was still unsure of herself and still feeling a
bit guilty about the unkind words she spoke to her aunt. She knew she would need help along the
way. She was hoping to meet up with a
Good Samaritan because as she was raised in the “Bible belt” she knew how kind
and generous the Samarian was to the stranger.
Fortunately, for Dorothy she did meet a few kind and
adventurous fellows.
Dorothy, in her memoirs, explained how their friendship
began.
Scarecrow:
Walking along praying for help, she met the first man who at
first seemed to be scary and a simpleton.
He was just hanging out on a pole which seemed rather odd, but
the unusual was becoming common place in this new land. Dorothy affectionately called the man, Scarecrow. Dorothy always said she wasn’t good with names as she often made up names to fit their physical description. This sometimes got her in trouble with the old lady in her town who besides her day job with animal control, worked for the word police. As she helped Scarecrow get his shirt unhooked from the nail on the beam, they started talking. He spoke English- lucky for her. Both were hungry, so as they talked they found an apple orchard. Much to their delight they both liked apples. So many fell off the tree as they tugged on the branches, you would have thought the trees were throwing the apples at them. Dorothy explained her dilemma to Scarecrow. He said that since he knew the farmland so well from being stationed at several sites on the farms he would help her get to the big city. Dorothy did remind him that they had to stay on the brick road in order arrive safely. “No problem.” Scarecrow said. He did tell her that the road went through woodlands and some rough neighborhoods where wild beasts sometimes hang out. Dorothy was not only grateful to Scarecrow for his insight but also enjoyed his sense of intelligent humor. On a farm, she was used to the humor of the farmhands, but not with Scarecrow. He not only had brains, but a lot of class. Dorothy felt light hearted. She felt it in her step as she and Scarecrow would sometimes do a little dance along the way. Dorothy took note as to how limber Scarecrow was.
the unusual was becoming common place in this new land. Dorothy affectionately called the man, Scarecrow. Dorothy always said she wasn’t good with names as she often made up names to fit their physical description. This sometimes got her in trouble with the old lady in her town who besides her day job with animal control, worked for the word police. As she helped Scarecrow get his shirt unhooked from the nail on the beam, they started talking. He spoke English- lucky for her. Both were hungry, so as they talked they found an apple orchard. Much to their delight they both liked apples. So many fell off the tree as they tugged on the branches, you would have thought the trees were throwing the apples at them. Dorothy explained her dilemma to Scarecrow. He said that since he knew the farmland so well from being stationed at several sites on the farms he would help her get to the big city. Dorothy did remind him that they had to stay on the brick road in order arrive safely. “No problem.” Scarecrow said. He did tell her that the road went through woodlands and some rough neighborhoods where wild beasts sometimes hang out. Dorothy was not only grateful to Scarecrow for his insight but also enjoyed his sense of intelligent humor. On a farm, she was used to the humor of the farmhands, but not with Scarecrow. He not only had brains, but a lot of class. Dorothy felt light hearted. She felt it in her step as she and Scarecrow would sometimes do a little dance along the way. Dorothy took note as to how limber Scarecrow was.
Along the way, they stopped to cool their feet, when they
heard a quiet whimper.
Meeting Tin man:
Looking around for the origin of the sound, Dorothy and
Scarecrow looked up but were blinded by the glare in their eyes. They had to look down and when they did, they
saw what Scarecrow reckoned to be two shoes…of metal. He scratched his head. Dorothy immediately had sympathy because she
knew how important shoes are on a journey.
Glancing up again, they both heard the whimper again coming
from a full metal statue. Holding his
ear to the statue’s mouth, Scarecrow discerned that the metal statue was indeed
talking and trying to tell them something.
Dorothy looked around for a clue.
They heard “oil can”. Dorothy,
not believing in coincidences, found an oil can right near the statue. So, they sprinkled him liberally with the
oil. The price on the can showed $.10 a
gallon. Dorothy, knowing the price of
oil in Kansas, knew that this man had been standing idle a long time. The statue began to shake and rattle a bit as
he sighed with pleasure. With a grateful
smile, he stretched out his cold hands in greeting. He apologized for the cold embrace but
promised that although made of tin, he had a warm heart. Dorothy asked him his name. He said that he couldn’t remember. He apologized for being a bit rusty on facts,
but to make it easy they could call him Tin man.
Tin man said that often people would pass on by but all they
ever did was take a picture of him and move on.
No one ever bothered to hear what he was saying. Tin man listened attentively when the two
told him of their journey. Tin man asked
if he could travel with them. He was
tired of being in one place and needed the exercise. He also said he was once an outdoorsman and
knew the woods like the back of his hands.
He teased that he could absorb some heat in his body too, and keep them
warm at night and shed some light. Scarecrow and Dorothy laughed out loud. They liked his warm sense of humor. The trio
moved on down the road with a hop, skip and a jump. Tin man was excited about seeing the big
city. They all burst into song about
meeting new friends.
They made it through the woods thanks to the Tin man but the
trio knew they needed to stay close as all signs were indicating some wild territory
was just up the road.
Meeting Lion:
Absorbed in conversation, the trio almost did not see a long
tail twitching on the side of the road.
It almost seemed to be trembling but who would ever describe a tail as
trembling Scarecrow thought to himself. Attached to that tail, at first glance,
frightened the travelers. Scarecrow and
Tin man had heard the gossip in the earlier years, so seeing this wild beast of
a king gave them pause because the paws were huge. This breed of wild beast may have had a reputation
for fierceness but this particular one received a greater share of tame and
whiney then beastliness. Plus, he walked
upright. Again Scarecrow thought to
himself, “How many wild kings walk on two legs?’ He came up with the answer, zero. The trio, observing that this fellow may have
been out of place in the wild, asked him to join them on the journey to the big
city. The wild king of the jungle
grabbed at the chance to go. He said he
was often mocked and bullied for his gentleness and lack of the kill
instinct.
Taking a step backwards, they all joined hands. Scarecrow taught them a few more moves and
they continued down that yellow highway with happy feet. No one was lonesome.
The Four:
With safety in numbers, the now quartet traveled on. The city gates were not too far ahead. They knew that the grass was not always
greener on the other side, but city life had a certain ring to it for the
country boys. Dorothy knew that
transportation home was just ahead.
They ran into several obstacles along the way. For awhile Dorothy thought they might
actually be in a Harry Potter movie but she knew that would be just her
imagination and a fantasy.
Reaching the destination;
Finally arriving at the big city, they noticed the
glistening green buildings. Although a
con artist tried to take advantage of them once inside the city borders, most
of the people were friendly. After the
long journey, they needed to wash the dirt off their feet and eat. And so they
did at a place called Patrick’s. The
guys helped Dorothy get to the airport.
The cheapest flight involved a balloon but she opted for the jumbo jet
to get her back to Kansas. Dorothy
kissed her friend’s good bye and promised to stay in touch via text, e-mail and
FB. With what only seemed to be a click
of her heels, Dorothy was home.
She immediately apologized to her aunt, kissed her dog and
told him TOTOTO and then went to sleep.
The Big City:
The guys found out that they liked the city and adventure
and that in the city they could make better use of their talents. So, Scarecrow, at first wanted to become a
member of the CIA but decided he would make better use of his talents by
becoming a professor. So, he earned his
doctorate and teaches at a premier university.
Now when he hangs out, he has his students listening attentively. Tin man also went to school and became a
world renowned psychologist. He had a series of books published titled: “Have a
Heart with your Neighbor” and “You Know How to Love When Your Heart Can Be
Broken…100 Ways to Mend Broken Hearts”.
He was nominated for a Dove Award.
The biggest surprise and change came from the wild one. He liked the title King but was not one to
scare people so he went into the seminary then decided his calling was somewhere
else. He became a comedian who uses
clean humor to teach lessons on living, loving and laughing. He felt he could do the most good by bringing
laughter into people’s lives.
Dorothy stayed in Kansas but visited the city as often as
possible. Her friends treated her like
royalty whenever she arrived in town.
Scarecrow, Tin man and the King also visited her. They on the other hand wanted to be farm
hands when they visited. They said it
gave them a chance to get down and feel the earth between their toes. (Tin man learned to walk barefoot once in
awhile. A friend took him running in the
park one day.)
20th anniversary:
The guys surprised Dorothy on their 20th
anniversary of friendship with an emerald diamond necklace. Dorothy wrote in her memoirs that if she
hadn’t stopped to talk to Scarecrow on the road that day, her life would not
have been as well traveled. She also
wrote that she was grateful for the storm that brought them into her life. They
felt the same way about her.
Marian R. Carlino
May 29, 2012
