Off To See The Wizard

May 13, 2025

"Hey, what do you think about going to see "The Wizard of Oz" on the big screen tomorrow," The Feeshko asked?

"How can we do that?" I answered her question with another question.

"It's showing at the Marcus Theater--for two nights only."

"Really? I haven't seen that movie in, like, 30 years," I began, "and I've NEVER seen it in a theater."

"Same here," The Feeshko agreed.

"Plus, part of it is set in Kansas."

"I know."

"And I was just IN Kansas."

"I know."

"Okay then, let's go," I concluded with an unusual air of decisiveness.

************

Throughout the day, we both were pretty excited about our movie night. I made an on-line reservation so there'd be no surprises like, "sorry, we're all sold out for The Wizard of Oz. Would you like to see a different show?" And we made sure to get to the theater early so as not to miss a single minute.

After we got seated, and well before the show began, I surreptitiously took a selfie. I thought it was a cute picture of the two of us in our seats, digging into the popcorn, and readying ourselves for the movie. Unfortunately, The Feeshko caught me in the act. She knows I rarely take photos unless I intend to post them publicly somewhere. "If you put that in your blog, I'll kill you," she promised. She values her on-line anonymity.

Out of respect for her wishes--and fear of her threat--I will not post the picture here. Instead, I'll post a replacement picture that just has ME in it. I have no such aversion to on-line visibility and self-promotion.

Cowboy Greg's Movie Review

Based on my experience in Kansas, I can report the first 20 minutes of the film were very realistic. It captured the very essence of Kansas--the beauty of the land, the hard work of farming & raising livestock, the importance of family and, of course, the wind.

In addition, seeing Dorothy's home on the big screen brought back fond memories of seeing it in real life at the "Dorothy's House and Land of Oz" tourist attraction in Liberal, Kansas. This classic film was already toying with my emotions.

This scene reminded me of the Sublette to Garden City segment of my bike trip.

I'm not saying I had to ride into a tornado on that day, but the windspeed made it pretty close.

I'm also not saying I had it as tough as Dorothy did. The wind did not pick me and Son of Bing Bong off the ground and carry us off to another state. For that, I can be grateful.

Dorothy and her dog, Toto, hid in the bedroom of her Auntie Em's house as they went flying through the air. They seemed frightened and confused. That's understandable, given they were in the vortex of a tornado.

It was pretty cool that they got to see a bike tourist who got caught up in the wind. It wasn't me, though. (But it could have been.)

After that scene, the movie got quite ridiculous. A few examples:

After the house landed, Dorothy stepped out the door into a very colorful foreign land. She stated the obvious, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto." Heck, it wasn't even Oklahoma.
She ran into such preposterous things as witches, a brainless scarecrow, a heartless tin man, a cowardly lion, apple trees that could speak and throw apples and, get this, flying monkeys. Yup, FLYING MONKEYS!
She believed a bunch of strangers who told her to follow a yellow brick road to an Emerald City, where a wizard could help her get back home to Kansas. I've got to say, she seemed even more naive than I am.
Of course, the "wizard" turned out to be a shyster, but somehow he convinced the Scarecrow he had a brain, the tinman he had a heart, and the lion he had courage, all along. They just didn't know it yet.

But it took a "good witch" to convince Dorothy that all she had to do to get back to Kansas was click the ruby slippers she stole from another witch three times and recite, "there's no place like home."

It worked like a miracle. The next thing us moviegoers (all six of us) in that theater knew, Dorothy was back in Kansas, and she was waking up from a dreamy sleep. As her loved ones gathered around, she uttered the final words to the film: "THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME."

My Kansas is Minnesota. And after watching the movie with The Feeshko last night, I agree that there is no place like home. I am happy to be here.

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George (Buddy) HallGreat journal, as usual - I'm sure the Pulitzer Prize folks will notice your writings soon. I enjoyed following along, and I'm glad you survived Kansas. It may come as a surprise, but I'm aware of several cyclists who abandoned the Transam route due to Kansas - the combination of crazy unpredictable wind and dangerous summertime heat is just too much for many folks. One husband-wife team arranged their sleep to get up shortly after midnight and ride through the night so as to avoid the heat and the worst of the wind. So your tour was indeed a worthy accomplishment, and I very much enjoyed following along. Oops, almost forgot to mention an important point - because of your journal I learned the meaning of the word "Ersatz" - now I know. Get busy planning your next adventure, and best of luck.
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1 month ago

Mark BinghamAnother great journal!! Keep riding/writing!!
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1 month ago

Gregory GarceauTo George (Buddy) HallThanks George. Actually, I got pretty lucky with the Kansas weather, aside from those two headwind days. The rainy day wasn't so bad, and I think I did this tour early enough in the year that there was no oppressive heat. There were threats of severe storms every day for the first week, but they never materialized. So, I guess you could call me an "ersatz Kansas weather survivor."
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1 month ago

Gregory GarceauTo Mark BinghamThank you, Mark. Now that I'm done, I can try to catch up on your entertaining journal.
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1 month ago

Emily SharpIt is good that you have a happy home to return to in a complicated time in US history. I did miss seeing you do a headstand somewhere in KS though. I envisioned you balancing just in front of an electric fence with a cow licking your shoe :-) Definitely a very nice tour, at least for one where no pasties were involved.

I can't imagine going to see the movie, though, as it freaked me out big time as a kid and I'm not sure I want to see it as an adult and form different ideas... some memories are just best left alone, I think.
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4 weeks ago

Gregory GarceauTo Emily SharpOh man, I can't believe I forgot to work a headstand in there somewhere. I must be slipping.

The Wizard of Oz scared the crap out of me as a kid too. At least seeing it again helped provide some closure to that traumatizing experience--and it also reassured me that Dorothy didn't actually have, as you've noted, a double chin and a stick up her arse. (Hilarious)
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4 weeks ago