The Wizard of Oz

Dear Erica,

There is nothing about this movie that screams Christmas. Heck, it takes place during a hot and humid Kansas summer. However, it wouldn't be the holidays without Auntie Em, The Wicked Witch or Dorothy. And Toto, too. I think it has to do with the fact that entire families continue to gather around the TV and get swept away by this joyous tale and all its many charms.

The older I get, the more this movie speaks to me. Now that 30 is just around the corner, I understand now more than ever what the important people in my life were trying to tell me when I was a kid. But we have to make our own mistakes and take our own chances before we can really understand how important "home" really is. We all have the power to click our heels at any time and return to our roots, but first we must rip up those roots and make a huge mess of everything before we can come back and appreciate the true measure of a family.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about those in my family who have died. When I think of my dad, who has now been gone for half of my life time, I could run crying into my bedroom like Dorothy after her feud with Miss Gulch. When I think of my dear grandmothers, I could rush foolishly toward trouble like Dorothy into the cyclone. Or I could close my eyes and travel the yellow brick road to the gates of Heaven, or the Wonderful World of Oz, where they all continue to live on and are never far away. All I have to do is dream and they are there.

Then there are those who live on and mean more to me than they will ever know. Whenever a storm begins to brew, I can count on Andy to turn on the lights. My aunts and uncles never batted an eyelash when I was a child and dressed in fancy hats and high heels. I have a sister who is truly amazing and has a family of her own that never ceases to amaze me with all its love. I might not have much in common with my big brother, but I know he's only a call away if ever I need him. Not to mention his thoughful children who are some of the funniest people I know. I was lucky to share a bedroom with the best little brother in the whole wide world, who knows all my childhood dreams. And of course there's my mom, who provided the greatest home one could ever ask for, and continues to be there for me every step of the way.

What does this all have to do with The Wizard of Oz? Everything. Sing to yourself one of its many classic tunes and allow yourself to be swept away. If we all take a moment out of our busy lives to dream, we can travel somewhere over the rainbow, where we can conquer anything we set our minds to. And what about Christmas, you ask? Simple. There really is no place like home and, to me, that's what Christmas is all about.

Till next time,
Bradley