savannah storytelling

I Dream of Oprah

I dreamed I was out town at a writer’s conference. I was tired and wanted to go to sleep, but my room was full of noisy people, laughing and talking. Even though I was wearing a nightgown and carrying a pillow, went out into the hall of the hotel. As it frequently happens in dreams, the scene changed suddenly and I was in a large auditorium standing in the wings of the stage. I had become smaller, the size of a child, and my pillow was more like a “Linus blanky”. Someone introduced Oprah and she stepped to the podium. She was big and she was beautiful. I wanted to get her attention so I called her name. Oprah ignored me but I was persistent and continued to call her. Finally, she noticed me and smiled that wonderful smile of hers. I went up to her and she gave me a big hug. There was something I wanted to tell her but I couldn’t remember what it was. She turned away to leave and I called out, “No don t leave. I have something to ask you!” But, she waved and went off stage and I knew it was too late. Then, I woke up.

When I am home in the afternoon, I turn on the TV to watch Oprah. The list of interesting guest can go on and on so there is much to learn from watching the Oprah Show. I also like and admire Oprah as a person. She uses her money, her show and her influence to help people. And everyone loves a Cinderella story, a story about someone from a disadvantaged beginning who makes it big by using talents and intelligence.

I’ve been thinking about Oprah a lot lately, thus the dream. I have a serious complaint about her TV show. I believe she has completely neglected the group of women in their seventies. In every show about women’s issues, women in their twenty’s, thirty’s, forty’s, fifty’s, and sixty’s are mentioned. Women in their seventy’s are never included. Why? Are we invisible? No, we are not. We are the largest group in that age category ever in history, and in a few years when more of the baby boomers kick in, we’ll be even larger. Some of us are still working; we are healthy, active, and creative. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

To give two examples, there was a program a while ago about the style of jeans women should wear at a particular age. The twenty’s through sixty’s were mentioned. What? We don’t wear jeans? In fact we were the first teenagers to wear jeans as a fashion statement. Recently, Rita Wilson, the actress, was on Oprah’s show. She spoke on how women should dress at difference stages of their life. Ages mentioned were twenty to sixty and women in these age groups modeled outfits. The seventy’s woman was left out again.

Since we represent a very large group of consumers, how can the Oprah Show overlook us? How can the sponsors of the show let it happen? Maybe it’s our fault. We have been silent and it’s time for us to speak out. I have written to Oprah three times. She probably never saw my emails since I never received a response. Whoever reads her mail didn’t take it seriously. I intend to write again and to send her a copy of this column.

If you are in my age group and agree with me, write to Oprah and express your feelings. You can make a comment on her website at www.oprah.com/contact us.html Click under ‘The Oprah Show” and it will take you to a link where you can email the producers. Any of you younger senior women can write, too. After all, you will be seventy one day. And you guys can write to support your wife, sister, or mother. The seventy- plus age women deserve to be recognized. Maybe we deserve a whole Oprah show just about us.

I found two addresses for those of you who prefer to write by US mail: Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Productions, P.O. Box 909715, Chicago, Il 60690 and Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Studios, 1058 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL 60607. Phone: (313) 633-1000.

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Friends and Lovers

Since I am a writer and a storyteller, it should be no surprise that I am fascinated by words.  After all, words are the tools of my trade.  When I come across an interesting word, one that is very descriptive or just because I like the way it sounds, I copy it on a piece of paper and save in a file. Some examples are sobriquet, plink, antimacassar, chalet, and molten. I do the same for phrases that intrigue me. Here’s a three I copies recently: ‘the spiked foot of lightning’,  ‘His smile suggested a disdain for toothpaste’, ‘ terror ran through her like a river’. I don’t know what I am going to do with these words and phrases.   Use them sometime, I guess.

Once in a while, I run across a word that annoys me. Preternatural is one of these  annoying words.  I have seen it in books quite a bit lately. I just don’t like the sound of it.  Don’t run to the dictionary.  The definition is –beyond what is natural, strange, abnormal, inexplicable -. Why don’t they use strange, abnormal, inexplicable, or even just unnatural? I think writers use preternatural to make their readers think they’re really smart. Maybe I should use it.

Another annoying word is “boyfriend(girlfriend) when used by a person of a certain age. When we are in high school, we may have a boyfriend(girlfriend).  It’s still appropriate in college.  It can be used even up to forty years of age, but after that, I don’t think so.  I ran into an acquaintance recently. I don’t know her age, but she looked as if she has been collecting social security for a while. She introduced the man with her as her ‘boyfriend’.  The guy looked more like somebody’s grandfather instead of somebody’s boyfriend.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I have nothing against love for seniors.  In fact, I am all for it. What I am saying is I think there is a need for another word to describe someone who is more than a friend for middle agers and older who are single. Therefore, I am enlisting the help of you, my readers.
Here are some words that can be used as an alternative:

1.  Friend: Yes, this can be used, but it doesn’t denote the intimacy that may be desired.        
2. Partner: I would wonder if this couple is close. This word sounds more like a business arrangement.
3. Significant Other: This clearly explains the relationship but it is too long and clumsy to my thinking. I would prefer a single word.
4. Companion: One of the better choices and may be okay but it sounds as if they are living together or married, and we’re talking about single couples dating.
5. Lover: This word is being used a lot in books.  If someone introduced me to their ‘lover’, my writer’s imagination would immediately see them in a compromising situation, and I don’t want that picture in my head.

Dear  readers, what do you think?  None in the above list is perfect.  Can you come up with a short descriptive word for single couples over forty?  We can begin to use it and eventually it may find its way in the dictionary. Webster’s Dictionary added over 100 new words in 2009. Why not our new word?

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