I don’t remember the first time I ever saw The Wizard of Oz. It must have been when I was very young because for as long as I can remember, I thought I was Dorothy.


I remember my mother making me a “Dorothy dress” when I was little. I wore the blue and white gingham dress everywhere. And I do mean every where. I wore the dress to the store, to church, to play in, everywhere. When I outgrew that dress, my mother made me another one a size bigger. This dress got as much attention as the first and was eventually accessorized with red shoes and a basket purse with a stuffed dog inside. I was never Dorothy for Halloween because I was Dorothy all year round.

To make things even better, my grandmother’s name was Dorothy. So when she bought a Yorkie puppy one summer and offered to let me name it, she should have known what was going to happen next. Yes my grandmother, Dorothy, had a dog for seventeen years named Toto.

I watched The Wizard of Oz so much that I completely wore out several VHS tapes. I could watch it over and over. I would sing along with the songs and dance with the music. The Emerald City was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.  The Emerald City make-over scene was one of my favorite parts. Dorothy’s house landing in Munchkin Land was too exciting to comprehend. This is also probably where my fascination with tornadoes came from. And I am still to this day, a big Judy Garland fan (although her best work will always be playing Dorothy).

I wanted to follow the yellow brick road and hang out with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion.  I wanted to be somewhere over the rainbow.  But as I grew up, I realized that I was not Dorothy, that I would never visit Oz, and that the characters from my favorite movie were just that; characters.

It was around this time that my Wizard of Oz collection took flight. Through the years, I’ve acquired many, many items. Because I live in a small apartment, most of them are crammed into a tiny cabinet with glass doors. This at least keeps them dust free. I hope to eventually have a better place to display these items.

I still watch it when it comes on TV. I even own a collectors edition DVD. Even though I know I’m not Dorothy, I still like to pretend sometimes......