"As coroner, he thoroughly examined her...she's really, most sincerely dead!"
deb...@comcast.net
Wicked Witch's death confirmed
BY KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle
Ding, dong.
The witch is dead.
Or is she?
We all know that the Munchkin coroner declared the Wicked Witch of the
East dead -- not only merely dead but really most sincerely dead -- in
"The Wizard of Oz."
But the 1939 death had not been recorded as a Kansas fatality, as state
law requires, until Friday.
The Shawnee County Commission appointed 90-year-old Meinhardt Raabe,
the Munchkin coroner in the movie, as a special deputy coroner so he
could sign the certificate and record it with the state. The
certificate was accepted Friday in Topeka by State Registrar Lorne
Phillips.
The certificate notes that death was by tornado trauma. And because the
tornado picked up the house in Kansas, the death certificate gets
signed here.
The reason for all this is so that the death certificate can be given
to organizers of Wamego's first Oztoberfest celebration, this weekend.
Phillips said his office wouldn't officially record the certificate.
Which leads to a question:
If the death certificate isn't officially recorded, can that wicked
witch really be
Positively, absolutely,
Undeniably and reliably
Dead?
Matthew Kruk
> ...
DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD
The Fifth Estate
CHORUS:
Ding dong, the witch is dead
Witch, old witch, the wicked witch
Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead
Heigh-ho, the dairy-o
Sing it high, sing it low
Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead
She's gone where the damned ones go
Below, below, below
So now, let's jump on up & sing & ring some bells now
(repeat lines 1-3 & 7-9)
(flute solo)
(repeat lines 7-9)
(repeat lines 1-6)
(flute solo, fading)
Brad Ferguson
<deb...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Wicked Witch's death confirmed
>
> BY KAREN SHIDELER
>
> The Wichita Eagle
>
>
> Ding, dong.
>
> The witch is dead.
>
> Or is she?
>
> We all know that the Munchkin coroner declared the Wicked Witch of the
> East dead -- not only merely dead but really most sincerely dead -- in
> "The Wizard of Oz."
>
> But the 1939 death had not been recorded as a Kansas fatality, as state
> law requires, until Friday.
>
> The Shawnee County Commission appointed 90-year-old Meinhardt Raabe,
> the Munchkin coroner in the movie, as a special deputy coroner so he
> could sign the certificate and record it with the state. The
> certificate was accepted Friday in Topeka by State Registrar Lorne
> Phillips.
>
> The certificate notes that death was by tornado trauma. And because the
> tornado picked up the house in Kansas, the death certificate gets
> signed here.
>
> The reason for all this is so that the death certificate can be given
> to organizers of Wamego's first Oztoberfest celebration, this weekend.
> Phillips said his office wouldn't officially record the certificate.
I'm glad that Kansas has developed a sense of humor since the '80s. In
1989, 49 states issued proclamations commemorating the 50th anniversary
of the film. Guess which state refused.
R H Draney
>
>We all know that the Munchkin coroner declared the Wicked Witch of the
>East dead -- not only merely dead but really most sincerely dead -- in
>"The Wizard of Oz."
>
>But the 1939 death had not been recorded as a Kansas fatality, as state
>law requires, until Friday.
>
>The Shawnee County Commission appointed 90-year-old Meinhardt Raabe,
>the Munchkin coroner in the movie, as a special deputy coroner so he
>could sign the certificate and record it with the state. The
>certificate was accepted Friday in Topeka by State Registrar Lorne
>Phillips.
Don't *DO* that!!!...
When I saw the subject header, I was convinced you were bringing us news that
Raabe had passed away....r
de Fragile Warrior Sports Supplies
"R H Draney" <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:diujh...@drn.newsguy.com...
Now now... it IS going to happen, dear. Best to get the annoying headlines
out of the way now...
Glitter Ninja
>I'm glad that Kansas has developed a sense of humor since the '80s. In
>1989, 49 states issued proclamations commemorating the 50th anniversary
>of the film. Guess which state refused.
Got a link or a site? I was a teenager in 1989 so I suppose I could
have completely missed it, what with being preoccupied with puberty and
all, but I have never heard this.
The people who live in Kansas aren't terribly fond of Wizard of Oz
jokes, because people always think they're a freakin' comic genius when
they make a crack about Toto. Then the comic geniuses get their panties
in a wad when no one laughs.
That said, there's tons of places in Kansas that make money off the
Wizard of Oz franchise. There must be a dozen "museums" which feature
nothing more than the complete Franklin Mint set of commemorative Judy
Garland plates. One town (I forget which one) claims to have Dorothy's
house, but it's not from the set of the movie. Souvenirs almost always
have either a sunflower or ruby slippers, or both.
God, I hate this state.
Stacia
Brad Ferguson
<sta...@xmission.com> wrote:
> Brad Ferguson <thir...@frXOXed.net> writes:
>
> >I'm glad that Kansas has developed a sense of humor since the '80s. In
> >1989, 49 states issued proclamations commemorating the 50th anniversary
> >of the film. Guess which state refused.
>
> Got a link or a site? I was a teenager in 1989 so I suppose I could
> have completely missed it, what with being preoccupied with puberty and
> all, but I have never heard this.
Kansas' refusal to issue the proclamation is cited in Joel Achenbach's
first "Why Things Are" volume.
DGH
Actually, she died in Munchkin Land, NOT in Kansas.
deb...@comcast.net
Because the
tornado picked up the house in Kansas, the death certificate gets
signed there.
DGH
But she was alive when she was picked up and, presumably, died from
blunt force trauma when she fell to the ground. Did the death
certificate give a cause of death?
deb...@comcast.net
blunt force trauma when she fell to the ground. Did the death
certificate give a cause of death?
Glitter Ninja
Uh. I hate to be a snob, but you got any other sources besides some
guy's newspaper column compliation book? Those things are notoriously
wrong about everything. My major concern is that I can't find a single
site or reference to this on Google. I found some references to the
United States commemorating the 50th anniversary of the film, and the
issuing of some stamps. Several references to products made in
commemoration of the anniversary. Nothing about a vote where Kansas
refused to recognize the proclamation.
I do admit that my Googling skillz are not 3133+, but I did search for
quite a while. Given the tourist trade the state enjoys thanks to that
movie, I would be surprised if the refusal (provided Achenbach didn't
just make it up) was purposeful. Probably one of our idiot
representatives forgot to get up early enough to vote or something.
Stacia
Brad Ferguson
<sta...@xmission.com> wrote:
> Uh. I hate to be a snob, but you got any other sources besides some
> guy's newspaper column compliation book?
'Fraid not.