“I think I’ll miss you most of all.” Dorothy whispers those words to the scarecrow at the end of The Wizard of Oz and no matter how many times I’ve seen the film, it breaks my heart. Every. Single. Time. Mostly, because I’m not a fan of saying goodbye to someone you’re likely not going to see very often, if at all, because the winds of fate carry them to worlds beyond your own. Goodbyes are difficult, but it’s especially painful to bid farewell to the really good ones.
This week, I have to say goodbye to someone I’m truly going to miss, and my heart is breaking into little pieces. I’ve only been half joking when I tell people I’d adopt this fellow, “if his wife and kids wouldn’t miss him.” He’s a gem of a young man and like the scarecrow of Oz, he’s kind of a Doctor of Thinkology. To give you a thumbnail sketch of who he is: he’s a quick witted, hard-working, dedicated fellow who is a leader of many and a friend to all who meet him. He always brings joy and rapture to the hallways and oh, how that will be missed, once he’s left the building. Unfortunately for the rest of us, he’ll be using his fantastic brain in a new environment shortly, where I am so hoping he will be commended for all that he offers (along with appropriate praise and pay to take care of the aforementioned wife and kiddos).
Saying goodbye and watching this great mind walk out the door and down the road hurts a little extra. In part, because I watched as the heart and fortitude of two other key people – left before him. For those of you keeping score this means: No brains, no heart and, well… no guts.
It has been mindboggling to watch this unfold, as I cannot understand how it has been allowed to happen. To quote the not-so cowardly lion, “Shucks, folks. I’m speechless.” When you’re the one who sits in a roll-y chair behind a microphone — that is not a very good state to be in.
Thank goodness for the keyboard.
After her wild adventure in the Emerald City, Dorothy described it as “a real, truly live place. And I remember that some of it wasn’t very nice. But most of it was beautiful.” For a kid, she said a mouthful. That’s a mighty fine sum up, and a pretty accurate description of the world I walk (or roll-y chair around) in. But now, I’m a bit nervous about how beautiful it’s going to be from here on out. You see, it helps to walk through a world that isn’t very nice if you’re accompanied by brains, courage and certainly some heart. But, you lose all three? Let me tell you, you’re going to want to pack up your basket and return to the land of E Pluribus Unum.
E Pluribus Unum: Out of one, many.
It is said that “when each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many” and that is how a community moves onward and upward, to the next level… if you will. It does not say love yourself until the needle on the dial reads ARROGANCE and then sit around on your haunches and hope that the tribe will follow you through the wilderness. Nope. It is most certainly not a Me-Before-You oxygen mask mentality when you want to strengthen and unite people who are to stand by you and march fearlessly into some great unknown. You know, the Wizard may be a jovial guy who spouts blustery pop-psychology jargon that entertains, but when it comes down to brass tacks he’s as full of the hot air in the balloon that accidentally landed him in the position of puppet king.
You don’t need a crystal ball to know that once a tornado has swept through — removing all traces of the magnificent managerial heart; eliminating the courageous virtue of information dissemination; eventually losing the whip smart innovative brain of an operation – that there may not be much left behind. One can only hope that those left standing in the rubble, with their insufficient resources, will be cautious enough to heed the original words of Professor Marvel, paying no attention to that man behind the curtain.
xo – t.
“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.”
“What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!”
“If your heads were stuff with straw… you would probably all live in the beautiful place.”
“The last to go will see the first three go before her.”
— Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz