Our grandson, Alex, is spending some time with us this summer. This evening during dinner, we started talking about movies.

Some of Alex’s favorites are the Harry Potter films and a few of the “Star Wars” movies.

In “Harry Potter,” Alex loved the special effects and the story line of how Harry defeated the “one who shall not be named.”

With “Star Wars,” Alex hadn’t seen the original movie from the 70s that introduced “the Force” to audiences around the world.

I told him how scary it was when Darth Vader first appeared on the screen. The heavy breathing, the dark, heavy cape and the mask combined to make one scary villain.

“But he’s nothing compared to the Wicked Witch of the West from ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” I told him.

Alex had never seen the movie, he said. I told him that “The Wizard of Oz” played on television every year at Thanksgiving. This was before cable and streaming services, I explained.

Every year, we all looked forward to being scared again by the witch and cheering Dorothy and her friends on to meet the wizard.

The more I talked about the movie, the more excited I got. I told him we were going to sit down after dinner and watch it. We left the dishes and found the movie.

As the opening credits played, I pointed out “The Wizard of Oz” was filmed in 1939. The special effects pre-dated CGI and modern ways of creating magic on the screen, I told him.

I gave him a heads up – I knew the lyrics to all of the songs and most of the dialogue. I would not be able to resist singing and talking along with the characters.

He was a good sport and allowed me to sing along with Dorothy on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and with the Cowardly Lion on “If I Were King of the Forest.”

Like most of us, Alex said the Wicked Witch of the West was scary and he liked the special effects in the Emerald City, especially the Wizard.

I warned him that I always cry when Dorothy whispers to the Scarecrow “I think I’ll miss you most of all.” And tears were rolling down my cheeks when Dorothy clicked her heels together, just like they have every time I’ve watched this film.

When the movie ended, Alex said he could see why it was a classic. We talked about what makes a great movie, and the great ones, we agreed, are always about friendships.

Dorothy was supported by her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, and they, in turn, supported and loved her. Together, they made it down the yellow brick road and discovered the traits they wanted most of all were always inside themselves.

The same goes for Harry Potter. Without Hermione and Ron, Harry would’ve eventually realized his potential, but his growth was more powerful because he was surrounded by his two best friends.

Luke Skywalker achieved his legendary status as a hero with Leia and Han with him. All of them grew because they had each other.

The same is true for any hero or heroine in literature, the movies and especially us. We are more powerful than we think ourselves to be. When we have a friend standing by us, it’s easier to find what we’re really made of.

Especially when that power has been there all along.

I’m glad Alex and I watched “The Wizard of Oz” together. Sitting with my grandson, I once again was reminded that there really is no place like home, especially when surrounded by loved ones.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.