Confused

I really liked "The Baum Plan for Financial Independence," but I feel like there's something I'm not quite getting... the Dorothy Gale name-drop helped, but I was more confused than satisfied by this story. The plot itself is simple enough, but there has to be some meaning or metaphor I don't get, other than that Sid is a loser. Does the underground station and the city of well-dressed, vaguely catatonic, too-polite people exist? Is the money real? Did Dot know where they were going all along?

"The Oakthing"

I really liked this story because it feels like a more traditional fairy tale. I am also taking a history class on the World Wars, so I felt a special kinship with the story's context and subplot.

The oakthing is reminiscent of the gods in American Gods. When the family abandons their home but forgets to sprinkle its steps with sour milk, they are forgetting the tradition that keep the old god alive. Thus the oakthing must venture out of its sanctuary to find some source of belief. The grandmother is willing, but her grand daughter represents the new beliefs of the war generation. Because the war has overtaken everything, however, it becomes a new god. The oakthing must sacrifice itself to the future generation, becoming kindling for the German soldier's fire.