A Night at the Oprah

Oprah at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre,
December 10th, 2015

I've never been a big fan of daytime TV, but I have caught the odd Oprah show now and again in my lifetime, so I knew enough about the format to wonder what this show would be about in Brisbane in December.

I knew this could well be my last chance to see a live show starring Oprah in my hometown of Brisbane, so I bought a ticket not knowing what to expect.
Being a fan of the Six Degrees of Separation theory and knowing just what an influence and icon Oprah was in the modern world, and how many more movie stars had appeared on her TV show than had acted with Kevin Bacon, it might be more fun to play "Six Degrees of Oprah", than "Six Degrees of Bacon".

Not that it would put me within six degrees of Oprah, by sitting in the audience, my interest is more that if any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart, then Oprah is probably a better link than Kevin Bacon, when it comes to the modern population. 
So everybody in the audience is probably less than six degrees away from Oprah, more so than Kevin.
I hope that clears up what I meant about my interest in the Six Degrees of Separation theory when it comes to Oprah. 

I pretty much had the same vantage point from where I saw Neil Diamond play the same venue a few weeks before and I thought it was funny how I drove home in a storm from the Neil Diamond concert only to have to drive back in a storm to get to the Oprah show -

Back to the Future with Neil Diamond on Nov 5th?

Another reason I wanted to see Oprah in Brisbane was because of the so-called media feud between the two Color Purple stars Rae Dawn Chong and Oprah herself, which I felt was a bit of a storm in a teacup at the time anyway, and wrote about it in the post linked below -
How Prophetic was this Episode?

Oprah and Rae Dawn Chong

I have to say that I was probably the only single straight guy there on the night, who actually paid for a ticket, and that probably isn't a joke, either.
But I quite enjoyed the night out as Oprah talked about her life growing up in Kosciusko, Mississippi and her spiritual and life views, which I felt were pretty much my own views anyway from what she said on the night.

View of Mount Kosciuszko from the east

I also thought it was funny how the name of Oprah's hometown, Kosciusko was almost spelled the same as the highest peak in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko.

Apart from Oprah telling her life story, she also gave advice about being yourself and not trying to be, or imitate somebody else, which is something I've blogged about in the past as well, so I hope she wasn't trying to copy me there when giving that advice;-)
The Message ... Just Be Yourself
Oprah was also keen on reading and drummed that home to the audience ... guess that's why she had a book-club? 
And the funny thing was, quite by synchronicity, I was reading John Safran's fascinating "true crime" book called, Murder in Mississippi.

John Safran is Father Bob's partner in crime, so to speak, and I mention him in a post I wrote on Christmas Day called -
In (Saint) Bob We Trust
Oprah also said, "pay attention to what makes you curious", which is probably why I have so many, what some would consider, crazy stories and theories on this blog of mine, which will most likely get me locked up in a nuthouse eventually, if not killed, so maybe, "curiosity killed the cat" might be advice to consider, as well, for the sake of your health.
Oprah also said to live with intention, which is something I have been intending to do in the future, so does that count?-)

There is no doubt Oprah has been a major influence on so many lives on this planet and sometimes without the individuals whose lives she has affected even realizing it.
I see it and hear it daily, like in the last book I read by Felicia Day where she became a child prodigy on the violin, because she had a thumb abnormality that Felicia's mother heard from watching an Oprah show, that learning to play the violin may correct the thumb abnormality.
You're Never Weird on the Internet (almost): A Shining Example ... Maybe?
There is also a book sitting here in front of me that I have read and am going to write a post about that has written on the cover, ""new voice of the month", Oprah Magazine".

And I see stuff like that constantly where something endorsed by Oprah has influenced many lives like one big ripple traveling across a societal pond leaving good results in its wake.

So, I was glad to see and hear the iconic lady's story told live to me in my own backyard.
It was an honour  and a privilege and something I will remember for a long time to come.
And after the show it was clear skies all the way home for once.
That has to be a good sign, I think. 

A picture of the Story Bridge behind Oprah

I also thought it was quite synchy that Oprah turned and walked through a door in the back of the stage, which when she walked through the picture of the Brisbane River photo (above), made her look like she was walking into one of my favourite stretches of the Brisbane River.
A stretch that I would often sit under the Story Bridge and stare out across and contemplate life and that I wrote about in this post linked below -
Story About a Bridge

* The Story Bridge,  Brisbane * Painting by Starr *