Kick Off

Ok. First let me say that this is not an Oprah Winfrey bashing blog, so you are bound to suffer bitter disappointment if you landed here from the title, looking forward to Oprah rants. To all of you Oprah huggers and haters out there, I will go on the record that I respect that she is a talented, hardworking individual who has accomplished an enormous amount professionally. In addition, kudos to any chunky black woman born poor in the USA who becomes a wealthy, influential, hyper celebrity. I use “Oprah” not as a description of an individual, because of course, I have never met her. “Oprah” is a state of mind

The moniker for this blog comes from an evolutionary thread of conversation that E and I have had over the many years, picking up and splitting off from some of the topics covered in Oprah’s products. That said, Oprah-isms have become some of our shorthand vernacular, and I developed a conversational code for my inability to suspend my disbelief with some of the societal incongruities displayed by and in her ventures. When I say “I’m Oprah and You’re not” to E, it packs 15 years of long evening conversations by the fire, debates over issues at the table while dinner cooled, and Sunday morning conversations with the paper that lasted until dusk.

But, I get ahead of myself. I am not a regular watcher or reader of Oprah, but I certainly understand the power that her media products wield. E goes through phases where she likes to watch the show while cleaning the kitchen – which in itself makes watching the program for her an irregular event! Occasionally I will wander into the rubber gloved firing line and roll my eyes at a program of, say,” Oprah’s favorite things” – for a mere $20k you too could prove that you love your spouse this Christmas! Or conversely, in utter fascination, I will sit down, rapt, listening to the likes of Madeline Albright talk about the state of the world.

So, enough of a kickoff. Lets see where this goes.