OK. My campaign is starting. I gotta meet Oprah.
When Oprah Winfrey hit the airwaves, I was not living in Chicago; I was in Cleveland. I went home for a visit, and all my friends were telling me, “There’s this woman on TV that reminds us of you; her name is Oprah Winfrey.” I got the chance to view her and thought, “Hmmm, we do somewhat resemble, but mainly, we talk, laugh, and engage alike.” Then, she hit it big, and I was always in her shadow. She met her Stedman Graham, and this you won’t believe. In stature, he resembled my deceased husband, Bob. Bob, and I would enter a comedy club and sit way in the back. Let me show you why:
We were Oprah and Stedman! The comedians would have had a field day with us. Why is it that when I moved to St. Maarten, all of my tourist customers from the States would call me Oprah? What?!!
I was a hater for a minute. After all, I was here before Oprah, and just because I did not pursue my intended career in broadcasting, and she worked fervently to build hers didn’t mean she should have all the glory. “Hummph…lookin’ like me.” This is the absurdity of an unenlightened spirit.
Absurd? Bob and I went to Maui, HA and visited Huna, this tiny Mecca of waterfalls, peace, and tranquility. We landed at the only hotel restaurant, and there was an art gallery in the hotel. You already know I was all up in there. They had jewelry, which I perused. No one waited on me. Finally, the owner came to me and said, “Please excuse us. Oprah Winfrey and her friends will be here on Huna tomorrow for 10 days, and we have to get ready. Please feel free to browse.” Y’all! I looked at Bob and had the nerve to be like, “She’s staying for 10 days!” I was jealous that Oprah Winfrey was flying in to spend time in Huna! Bob, who had won this wonderful trip, looked at me like I was the ungrateful fool I was acting. I could see myself in his eyes, and I recoiled in shame and apologized.
Shortly after that trip, it was Oprah who was like,” Girl, you need Eckhart Tolle; your ego is way out of line.” Because of that trip, I discovered A New Earth and began to move me out of my way. Can you believe Oprah went from tabloid talk to consciousness-raising? By this time, I was also a New Thought minister, teaching much of what she was teaching through her shows and workshops. I have been hanging tough with Oprah ever since. We sometimes fuss about show content, elitism, and colorism, but she’s my girl. My friend from Amsterdam gets upset whenever we say something negative about Oprah. We defend ourselves, “Oprah is ours; we can criticize her and still love her!”
I am pursuing Oprah with this divinely inspired blog. Of all the publishers to choose from, I want Oprah. (I guess Eckhart is wearing off). We have several venues we can choose from – O Magazine, OWN, or maybe I can sneak in through the Book Club. I am within her demographic, and I know she would at least chuckle at my content. I’m going for it...now…this moment...and maybe at least once a month until it happens. Do you think I need to have been blogging for more than a week? Wait…I can be an O discovery, one of her Favorite Things!
Joy Juice
At this time, some folks are angry with Oprah for exposing sexual abuse among Black men. Yes, Harvey could take the hot seat too, but for every man, Oprah has taken to task, she has given much more to Black men in hope and resources. She produced When They See Us, the bio-doc on the Central Park 5. Don’t play. Oprah is an iconic philanthropist, and we follow her footsteps in the consciousness of giving.
“It’s all good/God/Love” – Victorine
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Author of Be S.A.F.E., StillAware, Faithful, Excellent, now available on Kindle Amazon as an e-book.
“…the book title and its content are intended to be a whisper, reminding us that by taking the time to connect with our spiritual self, we can center through anything and that we are forever within the bubble of God’s protection.”
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