A visit from the Queen

Our bucolic area isn't exactly on a list of Greatest Places to Visit. The local college isn't on Playboy's Party List. In fact, the only list we've made recently (that I know of) is 100 Weirdest Places to Visit, and that wasn't even us, it was a nearby town with an underground mine fire that's been burning for decades.

Needless to say, celebrity spotting just doesn't happen here. Maybe there are local celebs who keep a low profile (Jack Palance) or former residents stopping by (Mike Mussina) but you'll never hear of someone running into, say, Julia Roberts or even heirhead Paris Hilton (who seems to be EVERYwhere). Sometimes during Fair Week a musical guest will turn up in the Big Town, but they're usually good ol' boys like everyone else.

Somehow, though, we rated a regal visit by her Highness, Queen Oprah of the Media. Yes, Oprah Winfrey and entourage were "just passing through" and stopped at the area's classiest restaurant (natch) for some grub. Okay... nobody "just passes through" here. Turns out the Divine Miss O is documenting a road trip slated to be aired as a segment this fall. She was en route to New York; apparently someone in her group called the restaurant and made reservations for 20 people for lunch using his/her own name, and no one at the restaurant knew it was for Oprah until she walked in the door. Also not known is whether any footage was shot during her stop that might make it to air.

Restaurant owner Marty Walzer said he didn't know why Oprah chose his restaurant for dinner. "I'm almost guessing they found our Web page," he speculated. But he's not complaining.

"What could be more pleasing than to be able to show some small gesture of service to someone who has done as much as Oprah has for so many people?" said Mr. Walzer. "We were certainly very pleased and thrilled she would get that far off the interstate to eat lunch here." (source: Daily Item)

The wait staff said Oprah didn't stay long, but did pose for pictures and "left a nice tip."

Here's my six degrees: one of the gentlemen who waited on Oprah is the brother of a guy I used to work with, and I once helped on a catering job for that restaurant. (My boss's wife used to be a manager there.) So any far-flung connection I have comes through my own place of work, which has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Oprah... unless she wants to do a segment on ballooning health-insurance premiums in high-risk labor jobs. Or investigate the mysterious "purple haze" that the large plant across the street swears is an "air inversion," not the crap they pump into the environment that makes us all choke and wheeze and tear up instantly. But I digress....

This apparently isn't her first trip to this area. My husband is from a town about 15 minutes away. He told me back when the newly-redesigned Ford Thunderbirds came out (the retro-looking ones) Oprah was looking for one in a certain color. The dealership in his hometown had one, so she went there to buy it. I haven't verified this but someone said it was a turquoise T-Bird and that sounds very Oprah-ish to me so I'm going with it.

I wish I had a new T-Bird...