Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Hello dear readers,

I have missed you, and I have missed my blog. I have been so busy teaching other people to write, that I have had no time to write myself. But from within that teaching experience (which I have loved...more on that when I am really and truly finished) one huge realization has emerged. I LOVE writing. I need to write. Just a few more days. I am shedding responsibilities like a snake. Last night, good-bye Larchmont Charter Board responsibilities. Two more weeks, check off the teaching duties. Complete.

But briefly, o so briefly, here is my thought for the day.

I think Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I have always loved it. Always. Even if the whole Judy Garland obsession has gone a bit over the top.

But we just watched The Wizard of Oz again with our boys. (Benji's pick, as a reward for good behavior). I myself had to wait until I was about 12 to watch the movie in our TV free house. But I did listen to the album over and over and over and over. I knew it by heart. Every last word. I could do the witch imitation, laugh like a munchkin, cry like the cowardly lion, and be earnest like Dorothy. And I would hold the giant album cover in my hand, peering at the main characters skipping down the Yellow Brick Road for hours and hours as I listened.

Benji loved it so much we got the CD for his birthday, which he listens to over and over in the morning, at top volume. When the wind starts blowing he shouts out: "Here comes the Nortado."

But for me, the shock is how beautiful that song is. Every time I hear it, I cry. When I sing it to myself in the car, or as I walk down the street, I cry. It was in Baz Luhrman's movie Australia (which I loved, because I love anything Baz Luhrman does. I think the man is a genius.) I sang it to Benji in the tent when we went camping. And Judy Garland's voice, simple, pure, soaring and unadorned really does melt your heart.

That song, to me, is one of the most beautiful things there is.

In fact, I think I will go listen to it just one more time before I begin grading my students' work. Listen to it, my friends. It will make you weep and dream. Is there anything better?