“Oil.” The Tin Man asked for what he needed to keep moving. He had been stuck in place for a long time, but with the help of strangers, he danced again on the Yellow Brick Road.

At a recent dinner for Human Rights Watch, it was speculated by people at my table that the reason there were fewer people attending than the year before was, in part, because of the HRW report that concluded Israel was guilty of apartheid-like treatment of Arabs in their territory. 

It can take a lifetime to feel that we’re finally in our own skin; that we’ve comfortably grown into the person we imagined ourselves being. Some people feel fully at ease with themselves early in life, but I think that’s uncommon. One important contributing factor is whether we care about what others think of us, both while we’re living and after we’ve passed on.

The governor of Alabama banned my life’s work. Privileged, white, conservative politicians, like Florida’s Ron DeSantis, are trying to prohibit any education on diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools, from kindergarten on. This is a much bigger deal than you might imagine.

“How did your parents react when you came out?” is the first question I’ve been asked by members of the audience in my 50 years of public speaking.

Lily Tomlin’s 6-year-old Edith Ann character said, “I’ve been told that I’m bossy.”