When I was a kid, two movies would come on television each year and captivate the entire country. Remember, there were only three major television networks, so virtually everyone was watching the same thing. One of those movies was “Gone With the Wind.” The other was “The Wizard of Oz.”

My family, like every other family, watched each of them every time they were broadcast on television. I know both movies inside and out. I know the Carol Burnett parody of “GWTW” almost as well as I know the real movie. And I know the other one, too. I watched it every year. I just hate those damn flying monkeys.

I really don’t know what it was about the flying monkeys that terrified me so, but I hated that part of the movie. I wouldn’t turn away, but I would dream about it for days afterward.

It’s really a pretty dark story if you think about it. A girl disobeys her guardians and gets sent to Purgatory to try to figure out what she did wrong and how she can get back to the ones she loves. When she lands in a new town the first thing she does is kill somebody and steal her shoes. Then she runs off with a dude she just met to meet “the Wizard.” It’s like a really dark “After School Special.” They even almost die in a poppy field. This is not a movie for children.

Which is what makes the play “Wicked” so good. It starts from the viewpoint that the story you grew up with is incomplete at best and then fills in the gaps. It is a genius bit of scriptwriting that takes us from the story we know so well to the new “truth” in Oz. I wish that I had written it.

Blogger’s aside: I have also read the book from which the play was allegedly adapted. If you enjoyed the play, do not read the book. Other than the character’s names and a few other items, the play is not the same story as the book. If you have neither seen the play nor read the book, see the play before you read the book. Just trust me on this one.

Peggy and I saw “Wicked” again this afternoon at the “Broadway in Austin” musical series. The story is clever and the writing is great, but it is the music that takes the show and your emotions to an entirely different level. We see the show every chance we get, and so far it has never disappointed. I cannot recommend it enough. In fact, if you get to the intermission and you haven’t already decided you love it, you might need to see a doctor. Or, like the Tin Man, you might need a heart…

Here is the capper — now that I have seen the play I don’t hate the flying monkeys anymore. How’s that for closure?

It is just so good.

As I was sitting at my desk today I realized it was January 20, the day the newly elected president gets sworn in every four years. No president is getting sworn in today, but seeing the date reminded me of this day five years before.

I cannot remember another day in my lifetime that brought so much hope to so many people. The inauguration of Barack Obama was a landmark day in American history. I never believed that I would see an African-American president in my lifetime, and I know that most of my African-American friends would (and did) say the same thing.

At that time I worked in an office where more than 60% of my coworkers were African-American. We all stopped working to watch the president take the oath of office, and there were more than a few tears as it took place.

The day after election day had been rowdy in the office, but this was much more significant and solemn. One of my friends, as she cried, said, “It’s really happening.” It was almost as if she could not believe it until she saw the oath of office administered.

As a person who remembers the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, it was amazing and humbling to see this result only a little more than forty years later. I know that forty years sounds like a long time, but that is rapid progress. Not rapid enough, but faster than I ever thought could happen.

What I remember most about the rest of that day is going to the Houston Rockets basketball game that night against the Utah Jazz. I’m sure the game was exciting and I seem to remember that the Rockets won the game. But what I most remember is the National Anthem before the game and the way the people in the Toyota Center were singing along. I wasn’t in New York after September 11, but I have never been part of a sports crowd singing the Star-Spangled Banner with more gusto than what I heard that night.

Something was different. Everything was different.

The year was 2004. Peggy had come through a battle with cancer that turned into the complete loss of her voice for many months. In the meantime, she had been working out with a personal trainer for a couple of years and was in the best shape of her life.

I was gently exhorting Peggy to get a job. Actually, I’m a guy, so I am not certain that my exhortations were all that gentle. But they were persistent and consistent.

When our son was six years old Peggy came home from work to be with him. She stayed home with him through junior high school while serving in numerous volunteer roles at school and church. When he started high school I told Peggy that I needed her to find a way to contribute financially so we would be able to afford to send Mike to college in four years.

Then she got cancer, then the battle to regain her voice, and I stopped asking her to figure out what kind of job she wanted to get. I just asked her to get well.

She was given a clean bill of health. In fact, the doctor told her that her outstanding physical conditioning played a role in her recovery. I began exhorting in earnest, and she began exploring avenues.

Understand, Peggy had been tremendously successful in her ten year career before coming home to be with Mike. In fact, if she had continued working she would probably have been the Chief Information Officer of the company for which she had worked. But things change quickly in the cyber world and her knowledge from eight years before was pretty much useless now. Hence, her quandary.

It was her personal trainer, Becky, that offered the most obvious solution — get certified as a personal trainer and join Becky as her partner. Peggy threw herself into obtaining the most rigorous personal training certification in the United States, and in a couple of months she was working with clients.

Her practice grew very quickly. You would have to know her to understand how positive an influence she is, and that translated quickly into clients. She developed a reputation for working extremely well with elderly people who were preparing for surgery or recovering from injury, and doctors in the area began sending clients to her to get help.

Peggy views her job as teaching her clients enough that they can stop coming to her. She tells each client this when they begin. For some reason — maybe even for that reason — they just want to continue working with her. Or maybe it is just because she is the most loving and compassionate person you could meet. And then she kicks your ass in the gym. But always with a smile on her face.

Peggy paid for Mike to go to college. He graduated two years ago with no student debt. More importantly, she found a calling. She loves helping people, and they love her.

Today is the last day of her training practice in Katy. She has been driving from Austin to Houston two or three days every week since we moved. She has been helping some of her clients transition to a new trainer, and some of them will now work out on their own.

Peggy is pretty confident she will find something to do in Austin. I’m no longer exhorting her to do anything except what she wants to do.

I cannot express how proud I am of her and the work she has done. And I look forward to having her in Austin a little more frequently, too!

We thoroughly enjoyed our last day in Las Vegas. We typically try to fly out in the afternoon so we can do a few more things before we leave but still get home before it’s too late at night. This works particularly well if you are leaving on a Monday.

We had Las Vegas to ourselves as we walked around and said our goodbyes. The weather was cool and a little overcast, so it was a good morning to walk. We ate lunch outside and shared something called “Frozen Hot Chocolate” for dessert. It was not hot, but it sure was good. So good that even my personal trainer wife ate some of it.

We got home Monday night and went to work on Tuesday, then we headed to Brenham, Texas for a Hot Flashes Christmas show on Tuesday night. Great audience, great show, great time had by all, then a long drive back to Austin. Tomorrow Peggy has to drive back to Katy to work with her personal training clients and I have client meetings in Austin.

It’s a little bit hectic, but it usually is this time of year. When you add in having to introduce yourself to all the clients in a new city at the same time your wife is traveling three hours three days a week, that only creates a new level of hecticity (not a real word, but you know what I mean).

We have our last Christmas shows next weekend, and Peggy has already set a date for ending her training in Houston, so it will calm down a little bit after that. Then we can begin to figure out what living in Austin is really all about.

Or we can just keep traveling all the time. That’s an option, too.