You Don't Need Ruby Slippers

Audrey checks out the world's most famous slippers

Many times we make things so big in our mind that we can't help but be disappointed when we actually encounter them. My 4-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Audrey had such an experience today when she came face to face with a pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Audrey and her brother, Owen, 3, are staying with us this week while their Mom and Dad are vacationing in Mexico. We gave our grandchildren a wide range of things they could see for their 1st visit to the Smithsonian museums. They were each allowed to pick one. Without any hesitation, Audrey chose Dorothy's ruby slippers, one of the most viewed artifacts in the history of the Smithsonian.

On our walk from the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station to the Museum of American History, Audrey would get excited whenever she saw a poster heralding the famous slippers. Her smile would widen. Her eyes would sparkle. "Look, Grandmom, there they are ... the ruby slippers."

When we finally got to the American Stories Exhibit, Audrey rushed to the glass case protecting Dorothy's shoes. "Grandmom, they're ... they're small," she said.

Grandmom began explaining the information contained on the display case. Judy Garland actually wore at least 5 pairs of the slippers during the Oz filming. The particular pair on display was used during the dance sequences because the soles were covered in felt. The felt surpressed the sound of dancing on the wooden sets. In the original script, a portion of which was next to the case, the shoes were to be silver, like those in the original story by Frank L. Baum. They were changed to ruby red because that color was more dramatic for the screen.

Audrey listened patiently. "I know, Grandmom," she said. "But they're still small."

It was fitting that one of Audrey's 1st disconnects between imagination and real life stemmed from the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, too, realized that not all is what it seems. When Toto pulled back the curtain, Dorothy and her traveling companions didn't find a great and powerful wizard; they found a lever-pulling hocus pocus man from Kansas.

But with a little guidance from the good witch Glinda, Dorothy quickly came to understand that she didn't need to rely on the suspect power of others. All she needed to fulfill her heart's desire was self-reliance and a little help from some friends. It's a lesson that served Dorothy well on her journey from the yellow brick roads of Oz to her home fields of Kansas. And it's a lesson that can serve Audrey just as well, no matter what roads she decides to travel.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
They say it's all happening at the zoo. With Audrey and Owen, we'll try to find out if that is true.