Woz Up - psychotic rambling on the Wizard of Oz

Almost all of you have had "The Wizard of Oz" as an early childhood movie experience. Just recently it was on TV and my daughter, Indi watched it for the first time. She was really diggin' it. That is until the flying monkeys came on the scene. Indi wailed aloud and was very afraid that Toto would never find his way back his Dorothy and friends. I remember freaking out at the same part when I was a kid. Witches were no big deal for me. Just meet my sisters and you'll know why (juuuuuust kidding - they are reading this too). But the flying monkeys were freaky. Even to this day I marvel at how the actor moved. Was it an actor or a dressed up monkey. Kinda spooky.

Have any of you, throughout your life, encountered people whom you associate the main characters in the WOZ? Have friends or acquaintances who are reminiscent of the scarecrow, tin man, Lion or Wicked Witch? Glenda doesn't get much play in my imagination for some reason. We give the good credit to "the fairy Godmother", don't we. We don't say "I dodged that car accident by a hair. I must have a Glenda!".

As I've gone through life I've, unintentionally, found some friends that are "My Scarecrow, and My Cowardly Lion. There's no formal competition. It's merely the junction of emotional and crazy imagination at work. WOZ characters break down as follows: Scarecrow=wants a brain, gets a diploma, tin man= wants a heart, gets a watch, lion-wants courage gets a medal, Dorothy=wants to go home, wakes up from her coma in the Dustbowl.

I have My Scarecrow. He knows who he is (Dorothy will miss him most of all). I might have My Cowardly Lion. I'm not sure because I'm pissed at who it may be. I definitely have the witches (see a few paragraphs up --haha) but to date, no Tin Man. That's one of the Big Three. All represent some kind of unique connection to me and my life. It's completely arbitrary and inconsistently derived. As irony has it - the Scarecrow didn't need a brain as he was already very clever. The lion didn't need courage, he just needed some confidence. The Tin Man didn't need a heart as he was a deep feeler and sacrificed himself for his companions - as they all did.

My Tin Man hasn't sacrificed anything for me. He just seems to fit. Odd, I know. There is something emanating from this person that says Tin Man! Big, strong, hallow, shiny, and rusted frozen from the rain, rescused by a girl with a dog who uses his own oil can to set him free. A bunch of contrary characteristics honestly. Maybe that's how I've defined them... by the contradictions. If that's the case, you'd think I'd have more candidates.

What character are you in the lives of others?