I love Oprah. I do. It’s no secret that, like a lot of people in America, I’d like to break bread with her one day. I’ve been watching her for years. I feel like she’s been my buddy, my sister, my Joe-Bob (the nickname I give people I like). I’ve been loyal and still am. But there are only so many hours in a day where I can watch a little TV and lately, Dr. Oz has been getting more of my TV time.
There, I said it. I’ve been watching Dr. Oz more than Oprah.
Oh, I know, I shouldn’t be so dramatic, they’re practically in the same family. The Dr. Oz Show is produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, so in a way, I’m still supporting her. But I feel like I’m leaving my dear old pal; like I’m growing up and moving out; like I’m letting go and drifting away.
As I get older and the people around me get older and, subsequently, our health issues get more complicated, Dr. Oz’s show makes more sense. I feel guilty because Oprah has always been there for me with thought-provoking entertainment and conversation material. Her show is going off the air in September. I can’t leave her now. What am I thinking?
Somehow, I don’t think she’ll mind. She supports Dr. Oz, too. How can we not support the guy who taught us so much about our bodies by advising us to look at our own poop? That was groundbreaking television. Poop is supposed to be an “S” shape? Who knew!? Oprah did and that is why she gave him his own show.
Dr. Oz was Oprah’s Health Expert on her show for five seasons. Every time I saw this charismatic doctor with his scrubs on, I knew I was going to learn something that I didn’t know about how my body worked. I’d sit in awe as he explained an animated video of our how cancer spread in the lungs, or about diabetes or about how blood moved through the valves of the heart. I never paid the workings of my body that much attention before. There are scientific reasons for the pain we experience. Go figure.
It’s funny how I knew how my coffee-maker worked, how my DVD player, my iPod and my cell phone operated, but had no idea how the inside of my body functioned. It was something I took for granted. After watching him a few times, I yearned for more knowledge and began to read his books including YOU: The Owner’s Manual and YOU: The Smart Patient, which he co-authored with Dr. Michael E. Roizen.
Dr. Oz is like the professor you hope for when you go to college – the teacher who opens your eyes and inspires extraordinary thinking. In 2008, Time Magazine honored him as one of the 100 most influential people in our time. He has certainly made an impression on me. He’s the first doctor to explain things in layman’s terms, and I will be forever grateful.
Yes, my devotion is shifting but I will always love Oprah. She’s been hanging around my living room for a long time. She’s part of my crew. I’ll never forget the grace, curiosity, compassion and laughter she brought into my home. I might be moving onto Dr. Oz, giving up on my dreams to one day sit on her couch and reveal how I changed the world, but I think Dr. Oz is a worthy successor.
I will just have to settle for his couch instead.