I saw Oprah at the Texas State Fair!

Oprah is going to be taping her show on the Main stage of the Texas State Fair today.  Everyone knows that.  But what everyone didn’t know was that she was going to be checking some things out at the fair yesterday.   We were on our way to the Dock for our lunch break in between sampling stints just like normal.  Our first clue that all was not business as usual were all of the police and barricades set up in the street, around a couple of the vendors and part of the entrance to the Embarcadero building.  I asked a policeman what was going on but got the standard “I don’t know, ma’am.  I am just here guarding the door.”    So we trooped on in to the Dock and ate our lunch.  When we went back outside the crowd and the police coverage had grown larger.  There were police on foot as well as probably at least half a dozen mounted police.  I was standing right next to two of the horses.  There were even helicopters in the sky and the buzz in the air was Oprah was coming.  Sure enough about 15 minutes later a black SUV pulled up and Oprah got out wearing a jaunty brown suede cowboy hat.  She walked through the barricaded pathway the police had created and went over to the food booth where I am told she sampled the Fried Butter.  By holding my cell phone up over my head I was able to get a shot of her as she passed by.

At that point I left and did a little shopping the Embarcadero as I figured the show was over.   I went back out the way I had come trying to figure out how to get around all of the commotion to the Food & Fiber Pavilion and realized she was getting ready to leave.  I was able to snap another picture of her on her way out.

I must admit I am not really a big follower of star personalities, but Oprah has always impressed me with what she has accomplished and how she has spread the fame around.  She seems to have been responsible for helping to launch many other careers other than just her own.  In my glimpse of her yesterday she seemed very attractive and personable.  She was friendly, waving to fans as she passed and on her way out stopped and chatted with a group of younger fans who seemed to be totally thrilled to see her.  It’s also amazing to me how much effort people are willing to go to in order to see their favorite stars.  Some of the crowd that I was in had waited in place for probably over an hour just be able to see her for a few minutes or less.  This morning on the news it was reported that by 6:00 AM over 4000 people were waiting in line to get into the State Fair so they can have a better view of the Oprah taping her show.  That event starts at 10:00 AM.  A limited number will be able to watch live and then the rest can see her on a video screen.

I know that many people have written on the “star power” that certain personalities wield and what they have the ability to accomplish through judicious use of that power.  I have read about it and seen evidence of it on TV but this was one of the very few times I had exposure first hand and I was impressed to find how real that power really is.  I hope you enjoy my impromptu pictures of an event I just happened along for.  I consider this just one more day in the life of a soap maker.  After all, if I hadn’t been sampling soap at the Texas State Fair I wouldn’t have gotten my “in person” glimpse of Oprah!