Oprah's Interviews

I like to watch Oprah's programme when I can. Last night she was interviewing Bill Cosby - America's 'father figure' - and talking about his book (Come On People) and recent lectures concerning the lower income African-American communities, the high proportion of single-parent families, and the absence of fathers in the family and community structures. Something that is relevant to our own country as well as many others. How does one learn to be a father when one has no role model? Where does one gain a healthy self-image and learn about responsibility when it is not nurtured and modeled in the home environment? I admire Bill Cosby for the stand he is taking and the contribution he is making to American society, and hope that it spreads beyond the USA to bring positive change more widely. This particular programme was worth watching. One quote that he used when talking about the attitude of maintaining non-success and non-progress among that part of society, and which I choose to file away in my ageing grey-matter is: "it's not what others are doing to you but what you are not doing" - in other words: "you don't have to keep the cards you've been dealt!"

This afternoon I tuned in, and was amazed at the contrast from last night. Various Guiness Book Record-setters were to be interviewed. The first one was a contortionist who demonstrated the feat of climbing into a suitcase and zipping it up in less than 10 seconds; followed by a demonstration of how she can put three eggs into three egg-cups while standing on her hands, bending her body backwards and accomplishing the task with her feet.

The second one was of a jump-rope skipping border-collie dog - whose record is 75. The dog also holds the record for walking up a flight of steps with a glass of water balanced on its nose - the only dog to do this feat. It took the owner 7 years to teach it to do this - and dog is now 10 years old.

I switched off the TV at that point! I could not but ask myself - what is the value of these things? Is it really worth the time to practice contortions/ take years to teach dogs tricks? And for what end? - to have one's name printed in a book of records? Crazy. When the dog departs for its eternal hunting/ barking grounds in a few years time, what will the owner do then? - start again with another puppy? - how tedious! Will the contortionists great grand-children be interested in - or even be aware of - the fact that she could zip herself into a suitcase and put eggs in egg-cups with her feet while upside down? Makes one think - what is of eternal value anyway - or are people really concerned about eternal things?

Maybe I'm just being a grumpy old woman today! Perhaps I should go and eat some chocolate and ice-cream to give me perspective.