Oprah's Favorite Things

[Raevengeance]

Oh my - I wish I was a teacher in her studio audience for today's show....they're getting tons of GREAT gifts from her Favorite's List...

[Gidget]

darn it! was that on today?

[Raevengeance]

Yeah - oh boy some of the gifts.

[Raevengeance]

Here's a short story about it - because 2 teachers from my area just happened to be included in the audience for the show:

Onalaska teachers feel rich after their salute from Oprah

By RANDY ERICKSON / Lee Newspapers

This Thanksgiving, Jeri Greenwood, Nicolle Hammes and 298 other educators have more than usual on their list of things to be thankful for.

Greenwood, a special education teacher at Onalaska Middle School(OMS) who lives in Holmen, and Hammes, OMS librarian and a West Salem resident, were on the receiving end of a long list of fabulous gifts from the Chicago-based talk show host on a show televised Monday.

Greenwood and Hammes went to Chicago for a weekend taping of Winfrey's show. Winfrey picked Greenwood for the taping based on the short essay on education she submitted. Winfrey also picked 149 other teachers, each of whom got to bring one friend, as long as the friend was a certified teacher.

In an interview after the show Monday, Greenwood said she and Hammes took the Amtrak to Chicago Friday expecting to take part in a show saluting educators and education. And in a way, it was, as Winfrey gave a p[arse]ionate monologue about the good work teachers do.

Then, Greenwood said, Winfrey started talking about how teachers were not rewarded enough for their work, and the next thing she knew, it was raining fabulous gifts. Winfrey had chosen to honor teachers in her own unique way, by including them in the annual "Oprah's Favorite Things" show.

The list of "favorite things" Winfrey wanted to share with her favorite people was a bit overwhelming, said Greenwood, a diehard "Oprah" watcher.

The list included airfare and three days and two nights at an Arizona spa, a widescreen LCD TV, a notebook computer, a top-of-the-line washer and dryer **it was the new Maytag that has the 3-zones for drying - "hang/lay flat/and traditional"**, a Movado watch, a global positioning system device, clothing, bedding and items of luxury that someone of Winfrey's position can afford to have among her favorite things.
In addition, Winfrey and Starbucks paid the taxes on the haul, so the teachers won't face an unexpected bill next April.

One of the things that touched Greenwood the most was the $500 gift certificate to OfficeMax, an acknowledgement of how much teachers spend out of their own pocket to equip their cl[arse]rooms and students.

The lavish gifts and being part of the great TV spectacle was fun, but Greenwood said the high-profile honor of teachers is what makes her feel rich.

"It wasn't the gift of the gifts," she said. "It was the greatest gift of being recognized.

Randy Erickson is editor of the Onalaska Community Life and Holmen Courier. For more on this story, see Friday's edition of the Courier or Community Life.[/b]