Last weekend I stepped out of a storm-wrecked farmhouse and ended up in Oz.
My daughter and I have always wanted to see The Land of Oz, the quirky North Carolina theme park on the top of Beech Mountain, based on characters from the book by L. Frank Baum, and bringing to life the movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We managed a visit to the Emerald City on the last weekend of their autumn season this year. Oz has had a difficult history. It opened in 1970 with a ski-lift balloon ride into the park. My husband remembers visiting with his family during the early years. The park sustained a fire, then was rebuilt and operated for another few years until 1980. The closed park was vandalized and abandoned until some former employees and others helped reopen for annual summer and fall events. You walk along the yellow brick road through the story, meeting Dorothy, the scarecrow, tin man and lion, the witch and her guard, a flying monkey, and more. There’s also singing, kitschy souvenirs, costumed visitors of all ages, and fried oreos (“o-ee-o’s”). It’s weird and wonderful.
I had a generational time collapse moment while we were there. I was remembering being five or six years old, when the Wizard of Oz movie would come on TV annually, transfixed by Dorothy stepping out of the black and white farmhouse into the vibrant color of Oz. At the same time, I was remembering my daughter at five or six, dressed as Dorothy for Halloween, with her long dark braids, ruby slippers, and stuffed dog in a basket.
We reminisced about all those moments in time, and others, on our visit. We also heard how a song from the musical Wicked first connected our daughter with her college roommate, who joined us. I looked at other groups together—grandparents, mothers and fathers, little girls in Dorothy costumes. Skipping down the yellow brick road with my daughter, now a young adult, I was struck by the power of a good story to connect people through the generations.
“Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal.”
L. Frank Baum, introduction to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
a writing prompt
What story has brought generations together for you?
Follow the yellow brick road of your memory as you write about it. If you get stuck, put yourself in the middle of the story, and see what happens.
