Whose Leaving?

Ok. I’m feeling a soapbox moment, y’all.

Have you heard or read the news that Oprah is going to retire? Yes, dear readers, it’s true. Not in a couple of months. Oh no. Not in 6 months. Oh no. She is going to retire in 2011. YES. You read that correctly, 2011. In over a year!!!! WHY? Oh WHY? Do I need (or care) to know this piece of news this far in advance? Hum? (scratching head) I wonder if it has anything (ANYTHING) to do with ratings.

Does she need a bump?

I haven’t watched Oprah in years – she is a camera hog. I don’t find her brand of entertainment/religion/self-help very, uh, well . . . helpful. She is just another woman, trying to make a living, and promoting herself and her ideas until the end, either the end of her show or her popularity.

I groaned when I read the news and purposefully have not read anything about it because I don’t want to buy into the media hype. I didn’t go see the movie about Michael Jackson for the same reason. Media hype – which translated means: strike while the money iron is hot.

I do understand how some people might be interested to know all about something as monumental as this – I mean if I had to choose between it or listening to the rantings over the pros and cons of the healthcare bill – I might choose Oprah too. But it is just baby food, folks. I think that is why some in the media feel like we need to the government to guide us into making decisions for us. We watch 6 months of reruns of old Michael Jackson interviews and now we’re suppose to moan and question “what will we do without Oprah?” good grief. No wonder the media considers the viewer/person as an infant or worse- stupid. We seem unable to learn anything or make any kind of decision unless they “tell” us what to think, what to buy, how to vote, who to vote for, how to sneeze into our sleeve, how to run out and get a flu shot before we all die of the swine flu - wait uh, I mean H1N1 …..blah, blah, blah.

Now, I might not have made a logical and coherent argument here – but that was not the point. The point was to get up on MY soapbox and rant until I felt better. And guess what? I did.

So thank you for listening. You’ve been great.
And as my grandson would say, "thankyou.thankyou.thankyouverymuch."

(The author bows, rises, and slowly steps off the box to walk quietly off the stage-the spotlight snaps off and as the curtains close - the author breathes a deep and contented sigh and says to herself, "ahhhhhhhhh, I got THAT off my chest.")