Farewell

As I'm sure most of you know, today is the last Oprah Winfrey Show. After 25 years of making us laugh and making us cry, the lovely O is leaving daytime television. While I'm sad for the rest of us, I am so happy for her. She, of course, will still be making a difference in the lives of many through the lessons she has taught us that will be passed on for generations and through her new network OWN.

Today I just wanted to pay a little tribute to the woman who has impacted my life and that of so many others. Since this would take a book to accomplish, and I mean a really BIG book, I've decided to just post a few pics from some of my favorite shows. While most of these photos are with just some of the many famous people she's hosted, the most meaningful shows were those with ordinary folks who faced extraordinary odds and accomplished extraordinary things. To all those who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and shared their stories so that we might learn from them — thank you!

Oprah in her Chicago office in 1985 before her show went into syndication.

On yesterday's show, Jada Pinkett Smith said to Oprah, "You may not have children of your own, but you've mothered millions."

Just a few of the facts that were shared:

• Oprah has enabled 64,688 children to have an education
• 415 young men have graduated from Morehouse College on an Oprah Winfrey Scholarship
• 30 million books have been purchased by Oprah Winfrey's Book Club members

Show moments that I will never forget:

• The Wildest Dreams Tour with Tina Turner — 1996
• Oprah dancing with Tina Turner in Las Vegas — 2005
• Legends Weekend (Middle Photo) — 2005
• The Mary Tyler Moore surprise visit with the "ugly cry"
• Every single show with Maya Angelou
• Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure (road trip)
• Every single moment with Mattie Stepanek

There are many, many more moments, but when I sat down to write out a list, these are the ones that instantly popped into my head. Well, these and the scoop on poop that we learned from Dr. Oz, but I didn't want to post a photo of that "aha" moment. With the exceptions of those shows with Maya and Mattie, the moments listed above are not those that provided me with a life lesson, but they are ones that made me want to hang out with Oprah as a girlfriend. 

Oh, and the Legends Weekend, that falls in both categories — life lessons and friendships. Of that weekend Oprah said, "I started thinking about all the women who'd come before me, many of whom have now passed on—women whose steps created a journey of no boundaries for my generation. I wanted to thank them, celebrate them, and rejoice in their spirit."

That weekend symbolized so much of what I love about Oprah — celebrate life and honor those who not only influenced you, but made your life possible. Women supporting women is a theme I embrace in my life and one we so often see here in Blogland. I am thankful for the women in my life, including Oprah and all of you!

I know, of course, that this is only a farewell from The Oprah Winfrey Show and that you'll still be making a difference through your new network and through the type of life you've chosen to lead. That's why I know this is only goodbye, until we meet again.

Today's Ocean Fact: Because of their structure, coral reefs provide shoreline wave protection from tropical storms and hurricanes. Coral reefs also provide habitat for over 4,000 species of fish and about 25 percent of marine life. –Earth Gauge