We leave Dorothy shattered and lonely in her cottage. For Dorothy, the only option was living a passive-ist life. Later, as she grew older, Dorothy joined Vandehei’s new age grandma group (though she had no children nor any pets). She became a qualified member of this group because of her obsessive search on Facebook for something of interest. She was looking for engagement that did not require relating to other people. She desired community without any required obligations. It was all about living vicariously in life and living at a distance from any true relationship. This is the “new age” for elderly women.
We can’t forget Toto, who had been Dorothy’s faithful compassion in Oz. It seems that Dorothy was trying to escape not only her relationship with people but also with her beloved Toto. She sent her pup to an animal shelter, hoping that he would find a better home. Unfortunately, no one seemed to want this older dog. The shelter had no other choice (other than euthanasia) than to ship Toto with several other dogs to a state that welcomed older animals and guaranteed that unwanted pets are not put to death. Toto was soon embraced by an older couple, and lived the rest of his life in a small town that reminded him of Kansas.
Viability of the Witch and Wizard
We can also ask about the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the West. Our Witch died in the 1930s movie, so is not with us in the 21st Century [though in real life, Margaret Hamilton, the woman playing the witch in the move did live long after the movie was released. As a Hollywood actor with a long and distinguished career, Margaret was not able to find many jobs in Hollywood after portraying the wicked witch in such a convincing manner. Her craggy physical appearance and cackly voice became definitive of witchdom for time immemorial.
I suspect that she never joined the new-age grandma group—for she remained a revered and generous member of her Maine community throughout the rest of her life (though she stilled scared children when they met her!)
Our Wizard did survive the time travel. It seems that hucksters always seem to remain viable—regardless of societal conditions. Now, in the 21st Century, he has become a Radio Talk Show host who has created his own reality (as he did in the 1930s) and has a dedicated and adoring audience. Unlike the Scarecrow, our Wizard of Oz has not been “outed” or ousted for his warped reality.
While the Scarecrow was unable to pick those who were to judge his grasp of reality (these being the parents of his students and the school board), the Wizard (like many other talk show hosts) has been free to do and say whatever he wants because his immediate judges have been appointed by him (as the acolytes he has drew to his program) and his ultimate judges (the sponsors of his program) are value-free and nonjudgemental with regard to anything other than audience size (and ultimately advertising revenues). The MAGA mind melders welcomed our Wizard into their group and he graciously accepted their invitation.
Then there were the two gentlemen who were brought to the land of Oz by one of us [WB] for the purpose of “healing” our Tin Man. Unfortunately, neither the Tin Man nor his companions are to receive any assistance from either Wilhelm Reich or Moise Feldenkrais. As products of the 20th Century, both Reich and Feldenkrais are no longer alive. They did not time travel with the Tin Man. Furthermore, if they had time traveled, neither of these gifted therapists would probably be available to visit Oz. They both would have been distracted by the struggles going on in Israel, the homeland for both of them for many years. We suspect that both Reich and Feldenkrais would be concerned not only with the survival of Israel but also with the belligerent stance they are taking with regard to their Palestinian neighbors. Both Reich and Feldenkrais would also have 21st Century problems of their own that needed attention.
1K Club
