Gillowbugs & Daisy Tales: October 2015

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

"Keep away ... -- Mark Twain"

Picture Credit: aponderingmind.org

"Oz 'n Ends -- CJ Alexander"

"CJ, have you got anything you feel like posting on the blog?"

"Sure, ME, how about something from Breadsongs."

"Let's see it!"

"I'm on it...okay ... here goes ..."

The film, Wizard of Oz, debuted January 1, 1939. Times were tough, capital D Depression and WWII at hand. Guys in short supply everywhere. Women working on farms, factories, keeping things together. Heroines for sure. You put a number of strong womenfolk in a room and you know what happens next: one of them becomes the alpha and the rest fall in, do her bidding.

Picture Credit: tvtropes.com

So Dorothy arrives in Oz. It's Dorothy accidentally killing the East Witch with her hurtling house, it's Dorothy who receives the magical ruby slippers as a gift (not Glinda the North Witch's to give) and it's Dorothy that Elphaba the West Witch mutters curses at. It's all about Dorothy! So now I get it: Dorothy must be the long-awaited 4th: The South Witch. The new alpha witch.

She heads off along the yellow brick road, carrying her yapping little mutt Toto in a hand basket. Determined to get home to her drudge-filled life on a dusty Kansas farm recently decimated by a tornado, she needs all the help she can get. So what does she get? A witless scarecrow, a heartless tin man, and a gutless lion. Gee thanks!

Meanwhile the old Alpha witch (Elphaba, some coincidence in that name, perhaps) tries everything and almost succeeds with the poppy ploy but ultimately it's the dog that tips the power scale in Dorothy's favor. Dorothy of course wafts home in an errant hot air balloon, but it was all a dream. And that's the end of the story except for the moral:

A girl can get into big trouble traveling her path with the witless, heartless and gutless, but if she wants to come out of it alive, she'd best stick with her dog.

"Gee, CJ, that was weird."

"Best I could do on short notice."

"Don't quit your day job, girl."

"... Detail ..." -- Henry David Thoreau

Picture Source: Not Known

Quote Source: Be Happy by Patrick Lindsay

"Limerick of the Day -- '... the Pelican' -- Dixon Lanier Merritt (1910)

It’s always interesting to see one of my “collectibles” come up for auction on eBay. Watching the bids climb for a favorite piece is fascinating. Two recent auctions of this jar netted the sellers $200+, respectively. I have no intention of selling my “Extremely Rare Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans” cookie jar … it’s such a fun piece.

This cookie jar depicts a bag of “Bertie Botts Beans” introduced in the Harry Potter books and movies. The “BB Beans” are just one imaginative confection described in the story arc. The “BB Beans” are similar in concept to “Jelly Belly” jelly beans (my favorite is "Buttered Popcorn"), with a twist … the flavors are often bizarre and sometimes distasteful (for example, "Vomit") … just the sort of thing to appeal to a child.

“Warner Brothers released this one cookie jar through their stores. Several other Harry Potter jars were produced by Enesco and licensed by Warner Brothers, but this first jar is the only one sold through the WB stores.” (Barbara Crews, Collectibles Expert)

Date Issued -- 2001

Dimensions -- 10.5”

NOTE: Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans are available from: