RaisingDad

The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies, but, I’ll admit, when I was a kid still in single digits, the grumpy apple trees and flying monkeys used to really creep me out.      What actually out-and-out scared me was the scene where Dorothy was trapped in the Wicked Witch’s castle, crying to the image of her Auntie Em in the crystal ball, a nd then the image of her aunt changes into the Wicked Witch!  Who looks directly into the camera and cackles her hideous cackle.      It felt like she was looking right at me.    They were having a special showing of The Wizard of Oz at the Cinemark movie theater on the 27th, 29th, and 30th of this past January. It was sponsored by Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). A funny thing that happened when I took my 4-year-old granddaughter to the matinee showing of it on Sunday the 27th. We got there early, bought our tickets, and stood in line to get our snacks. There was a single...

as featured in Desert Exposure Magazine desertexposure.com   My father walks every day-- EVERY day--rain or shine.     Trust me, I know because I have to listen to him complain how much his feet hurt when he gets back. Part of me wishes he'd stay home, that way I can keep an eye on him, but another part of me realizes when he's not here I don't have to watch baseball on TV. It also gives me a chance to sneak away and do something special with one of my grandkids.     Like in January, for example, I took my granddaughter to see a special showing of The Wizard of Oz .* Interestingly enough, there were mostly adults in the audience. Very few kids. A group of ladies sat next to us. They came in late, then left to go get food. They couldn’t have done that BEFORE they entered the theater? I said nothing, even though I wanted to. My granddaughter was enjoying the experience, plus this is a different time we live in.   ...