We're Off To See The Wizard
| Basha of Oz says she would have rolled out the yellow-brick path, but it's raining. So instead, she locks up her dog, Munchkin, and hopes a handshake will suffice as she welcomes a visitor into her "Wizard of Oz" wonderland. Because she is, at least in spirit, from the Emerald City, Basha has curly green hair, a green gown and shiny slippers to match - a look she adopts whenever traveling to one of the three or four Oz conventions she attends yearly. She admits this might all seem a bit crazy, but adds that she could never abandon her obsession for the sake of appearances. "When I first saw the movie," she recalls, "I did that little dance all the way home." That was in 1939, at the Palace Theatre. Since then, Basha has traveled the country as an Oriental and belly dancer. She retired when "her body gave out" and turned her attention to decorating her home in Novelty. While Oz music plays in the background, Basha leads a tour of her treasures. She owns original editions of the books by L. Frank Baum on which the movie was based, hundreds of dolls and figurines, costumes, dishes and pictures, many of which are autographed. In the living room alone, there is an apple tree (now leafless and drooping) with green twinkling lights and dozens of Christmas ornaments featuring every character, from Dorothy to the evil flying monkeys. |
Which brings Basha to an important point: While some collectors limit themselves to one character, she cannot. Leaning forward, she lowers her voice and explains: "How can you buy just a Tin Man?" As evidenced by the Dorothy dolls, Scarecrow coffee mugs and Lion pictures, Basha cannot. But the accumulation of objects is not Basha's primary goal. Two years ago, she threw a party for Margaret Pellegrini, one of the 124 little people recruited to play Munchkins in the movie. Of the dozen or so Munchkins now alive, eight still travel the country, attending conventions in full costume. "The best part of this is meeting people - wonderful people," say Basha, who made Pellegrini the yellow-brick-road suitcase she takes on trips. Basha is the first to admit that her passion comes at a price. She recently paid $500 for a miniature table and four chairs, each painted to resemble a character. "I wake up in the middle of the night and come downstairs to look at it," she says. Her biggest concern, though, isn't financial. It's what will happen after the rest of the Munchkins pass away. "I maybe wouldn't be as interested," she says. "Then what would I do?" Story By: |
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