Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone 

who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

- 1 Peter 3:15b (NIV)

Recently, Amber and I went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful, Disney's new prequel to the Judy Garland classic, The Wizard of Oz. Ordinarily, when I hear "Disney" or "Oz", I tend to imagine things that are bright, cheerful and family-friendly; but for some reason, when these two came together (as before), they created something often dark, scary and I would say not really appropriate for smaller children. It only earned a PG rating, but I'm surprised!

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in 1939 anymore!

That being said, I thought the Wizard's origin story was interesting, and the movie took time to emphasize several good lessons, which is (of course) why it's being featured here!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Everybody Loves... the Meaning of Life

Why are we here? That's the question Ray's daughter Allie asks in the Season 6 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond titled "Talk to Your Daughter". It's a question people have pondered since the beginning of time, and depending on whom you ask, there are probably a million different answers people can give. In this episode, each of the adults offer their insight, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to look at their various answers, and then give another possibility at the end.

The beginning of the episode doesn't even hint that it will deal with anything so deep. It opens with Ray trying to prove to his friends that he can call his wife Debra mean names and get away with it as long has he says it in a nice tone. When Deb catches him calling her "Smelly Tramp", however, she is not amused. That night, she calls Ray immature and accuses him of shirking responsibility. To prove her wrong, Ray offers to step up and have "the sex talk" with his daughter, who's been asking questions lately. But for all his studying, Ray is thrown for a loop when he approaches Allie and learns that her real question isn't so much where babies come from, but WHY they come at all!

Ray: "OK, here's what happens. When a man and a woman love each other very much, they get married, and then sometimes, they decide to make a baby.
Allie: "Why are there babies?"
Ray: "Right, OK, I'm gonna get to that. What a man and a woman do is-"
Allie: "No, I mean, I know that the man and the woman have to do something, but... Why are we born? Why does God put us here?"
Ray: "...because...that's...WHAT?"
Allie: "If we all go to Heaven when we die, then why does God want us here first?"