Dorothy looked up quickly. He had looked very familiar to her when she first saw him. Then it dawned on her. Presidentland! Of course! The man was none other than President Andrew Jackson! Dorothy gasped. She had seen President Jackson's face in an American History book. "But sir," she said. "I-I thought you were...."
"Dead?" interceded the man. Then he chuckled. "No, not at all, my dear young lady. Oh yes, my physical body died a long time ago. But no one can ever really die. That would be impossible. Each of us is part of creation; we are all part of the scheme of things. Nothing can destroy us, nothing. We can destroy the quality of our existence by our wrong thinking and behavior. In other words, that beautiful true nature of our being can be covered up until it is invisible — both to others and to ourselves. This true nature cannot be destroyed, only temporarily buried in the murk of mortality until either someone rescues us, or we rescue ourselves. Usually it is a combination of both. Now, my young friend, let me introduce you to my associates."
Dorothy turned to see the faces of none other than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Her eyes grew wide, and her heart skipped a beat as she whispered, "I am very honored to meet you, sirs,"
"Not at all," they replied. "The honor is ours," said Mr., Lincoln. "It is a delight to meet such a fine young lady and her equally fine friends." They shook hands with everyone.
"Please be seated," President Jackson said. He poured Dorothy a large sparkling glass of lemonade and began to explain why the three of them — all ex-presidents of the United States, were together.
"We call this area Presidentland. It is not really a land and we don't all live here permanently. But we do meet here often. That is why we have homes here. We live with our families in our regular homes throughout the land. The full name of our little club here is 'Americanpresidentland,' and it is a private club made up of United States Presidents. Of course, anyone can visit us, just as you are visiting us now. We are only private in the sense that we are generally alone in order to conduct the business that we must conduct among ourselves.
"The reason we meet so often is because of our dear love for our country and for mankind in general, we are anxious to help resolve the many problems that exist on the earth today, and especially those related directly to our beloved country. We work with many members of the government, as well as the current President. We will be holding a full meeting very shortly. You are all welcome to join us and to observe the proceedings."
"Oh, we'd love to, Mr. President," said Dorothy. "Wouldn't we, everyone?"
"Yes indeed!" said the Tin Woodman. Everyone nodded excitedly.
"This will really be a historic occasion, to say the least," said Dorothy.