She'll never see this ... God knows she's receiving many more important e-mails, faxes, letters, and personal gifts of congratulations than mine. She's celebrating twenty-years of hosting her own television show every day. We know her. She's lived with us and shown us the good and bad in her--freely and openly--every day--for twenty years.
I've quoted her often. I've studied her life because I was born the same year as Oprah. She's far and above accomplished more than I ever have. But I'm sure I can speak for many of her fans ... that we feel such a kinship to her. (Especially, her battle with weight, and those funky 80's clothes, hairstyles, and earrings! Lordy.)
Whether you like her or not, Oprah Winfrey is part of American culture. She's an icon to be studied in American History. She's a beacon for women's issues and African-American issues. She's a humanitarian, a philanthropist, and a good ole' girl. I've never met her, I probably never will. But I love her for who she is, what she's done, and the voice I hear in my head many times as I write about the South. "Sofia Sofia Sofia, ain't that a purty name, Paw, Sofia?" I fell in love with her as Sofia in The Color Purple at the very moment she spoke these words ...
"YOU told Harpo to beat me! All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy ... I had to fight my brothers, I had to fight my uncles ... girl chile' ain't safe in a family of mens! But I never thought I'd have to fight in my own house. I luvs Harpo. Gawd knows, I do ... BUT I'LL KILL HIM DEAD, BEFORE I LET HIM BEAT ME! Now if you want a dead son-in-law, Miss Celie, you keep on advisin' him like you doin'. "
(To which Celie says...) "This life soon be over. Heaven last always."
(And I love what Sofia says in return.) "Girl, you ought to bash Mr. head open ... think 'bout heaven later!"
It hit me like a brick in the head. Sofia was me. Her struggle resembled my own. When she spoke these words, it literally summed up the religious struggle in my life at that point.
That was the moment I knew, Oprah was my hero, my mentor, my friend.
Happy Anniversary, Oprah.
From a loyal viewer.
Blessings to you and yours.
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