And when that fog horn blows

I've been reading "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" so the Wizard of Oz has been on the brain lately. Coincidentally enough I happened to hear a whole show about L. Frank Baum's fictional land of Oz; what, and why it means so much to people. (I have never read the books, did you know the original shoes are silver not ruby?)

Anyway, I was struck by what Salman Rushdie had to say about the movie to an audience. He said that many people come away with the message that Dorothy leaves us with in that final scene, "There's no place like home;" that "east, west, home is best" type of thing and he thinks that's wrong, at least in the literal sense. Despite all my New York nostalgia I have to agree with him. Home isn't a place, it's inside of us. We create a home wherever we are, surrounded by those we love and who love us. Dorothy longs to go over the rainbow, a euphemism for independent exploration of the world. I think MGM did her and the rest of the impressionable a disservice to suggest that next time we want adventure we needn't "look further than our own backyard." In fact in the books she returns to Oz, and brings Auntie Em and Uncle Henry with her. We should always be encouraged to follow our dreams, for they live in our hearts as well, and trust that wherever they lead us we will always find a home.

Anyway all this is a fancy way of saying that this Thanksgiving holiday, I am thankful for my home. The one I hold in my heart---be it Millis, Woodside, or wherever life takes us, and the little corner that all of my friends and loved ones carve out for me in theirs.

Peace, Shalom, Amen. Eat lots of pie.
G.