There's no place like home

I’m sure we have all heard those famous words “there’s no place like home”, and truthfully so. What other place in the entirety of the world can you think of that has as much meaning and warmth as the place you call home? I know that personally, being so far away from my home (I hear it’s about 700 miles from Chico to San Diego) there is no place that I miss more when I am having a rough day or simply need to be comforted. I was blessed with a loving family and a welcoming home, but some have not been as fortunate. Ironically, some of the closest friends and acquaintances I have made throughout my life have come from horrible, broken homes. My home and family have acted as almost a refuge for these people throughout the years.

 One of my friends in particular actually has no home at all; No family, no place to go for the holidays, no one to worry when she hasn’t called in a few days. I have watched as this friend of mine has slowly begun to creep towards the deep end of the pool, so to say, and it is my belief that if she did in fact have a home, she would be much more grounded.

In Salman Rushdie’s The Auction of the Ruby Slippers we read intently as he describes people from all walks and corners of the world coming together for the selling of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz’s magically ruby slippers, whose powers allow its owner to be transported home with three clicks of the heel and the famous phrase “There’s no place like home”. Movie stars, the homeless, priests, immigrants and people of all types gather around the slippers drooling, dreaming of what the could accomplish.

Now, it is obvious that slippers of this ability could never exist, so what is it that they represent? Well, the answer lies within the one driving force that no human being could truly survive and thrive without: a home. The slippers represent the prospect of finding a home, and that is why they are so valuable. Every person on earth, whether they are rich or poor or Catholic or atheist or black or white needs a home. Without it, how do we ever really know who we are? The existence of one’s self and the knowledge of our past is vital in shaping who we are, and we all strive to find the answer to that question.

In the case of The Ruby Slippers the auctioneers are those who have been fortunate enough to find their home and know who they are, other wise they would have their drooling faces pressed up against the bullet-proof glass of the slipper case just like everyone else. It is when you find yourself and your home that you graduate from a bidder to an auctioneer, because once you have obtained everything you need in life, there is nothing left to do other than help those who have not yet done the same find their way. Others in attendance at this auction are maybe those who are in search for what they need as well, and have only come to the auction to realize that a home is not what they are in need of, and continue in their search for wholeness.

There are many other commodities being auctioned off in this story; records, memorabilia, even underwear. But it is not their literal meaning that is for sale; it is what they represent. For some, the memorabilia might be the chance to reconnect with a loved one. For others, it could put to rest some lingering need to reconcile the past. In any case, different things have different meanings for different people, and I am sure if Annie Leonard knew what those slippers were doing for that particular person, she would have no problem watching them take someone home.