"There's No Place Like the Smithsonian"

What child does not watch The Wizard of Oz and fall in love with its fantastic splendor?

Obvious, corny and completely conventional, the 1939 epic manages to grab hold of the heartstrings of successive generations and hold onto them in a way that few other classics can because the film deals simply and forthrightly with the importance of friendship, the sanctity of home and the necessity of good triumphing over evil. All of which makes those famous Ruby Slippers an indelible part of the larger American narrative. That the famous footwear now resides in the Smithsonian, where I snapped this photo, is entirely appropriate.