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Song 14: Ramble On/Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Lisa Tingle, Hidden Track on Live at the Lucky Lounge)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, which I was obsessed with as a little girl. I don't know if it was those wonderful red sparkly shoes, or the Good Fairy, or what, but I thought it was magical. My junior high school did a production of the play in theatre arts class, and I played Glenda. . .the part of Dorothy went to a gal who could actually sing. My mom made my costume, which was pink and fluffy and shimmery, and more than made up for the fact that I didn't get to wear ruby red slippers.

But the first thing I think about when I think about the Wizard of Oz is my imaginary dog. When I was 5 or 6, I wanted a dog just like Toto. So I pretended to have a dog named Toto. Until one day, when I came home from school, and there was a real live Toto dog in my backyard. (Toto was a stray who ran over to my mom in the grocery store parking lot, and she decided to bring him home until our family could decide what to do with him.) I was always a pretty happy kid, but the day I came home to find my imaginary dog come to life? Best. Day. Ever!