Oprah's Master Class

[bombaysaffires]

I thought she looked fabulous in all the candid photos of her with her brother and her mom. Those were really recent and she looked AMAZING in some of them and like she was 35-- and they were candid shots, not professionally done. She looked younger in those than in the show.

I thought it was very interesting that she said, in talking about Matthew , "I just wanted to get my hands on that baby". I've read several different interviews with people around her where those very words were used "she really just wanted to get her hands on that baby". I think it was a time when Stevie was still on some level dealing with children she didn't have (not to bring up a controversial subject) and on some twisted level (not evil twisted, just drug-fueled fantasy twisted) she felt like this baby was brought into her life to, I don't know, maybe compensate for all that. I don't think it was so much about creating a home for the kid as it was more about her trying to fulfill a need of her own. I suspect the realities of a baby and childrearing opened her eyes pretty quickly.... Still, I thought it was honest of her to use those words.

I *did* wonder though about her reference to her relationship with Mick-- is she pissed at him for something? Usually she says "I loved Mick and Mick loved me but it couldn't work so we ended it" (though really he ended it by going off with Sara, but I digress...) But she was very unromantic about it on this show... drugs were to blame, it hurt a lot of people and for what.... "it led to nothing". Just a quite different tone than she usually takes about that whole relationship.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

I'll help: She's rich and famous.

And even before she became rich and famous, apparently she grew up in a loving family with supportive parents. She grew up with affluent parents. She was pretty blessed even before she became a star. Many people in showbusiness have escaped horrible pasts and that's what fueled their ambition and drive -- and substance use. As far as we know, Stevie didn't have to do that, so that gave her a leg up even before worldwide success came.

For years, Siskel & Ebert used to praise this "Up" series that looked at the same set of children from different backgrounds starting at age 7 and then continuing every 7 years to see how their lives had changed. The documentary began in 1964 and they've just released their newest installment where those 7 year old kids are now 56! I didn't watch it when I first heard about it, but because I wanted to see 56 up, I caught up on all the old ones and it's just amazing how much of these children's lives were shaped from age 7, just based on the families that they were born into. The majority of them became what life had mapped out for them to become at birth.

Now, there are always exceptions. That's the American success story (the Up kids are British), where you come from humble beginnings and evolve into a self-made millionaire, but that's very rare. That's why it remains the "dream."

If your origins begin well, if you don't face abuse and hardship (emotional or financial) early on, then that's the beginning of blessings that often just snowball. I think they did for Stevie.

I mean, listening to her talk about her struggling years last night, when they barely had enough food, we know very well that even those weren't all that bad. I mean, if you call Dad from Aspen for an emergency plane ticket to get back to Los Angeles because you have fought with your fiery boyfriend who drove off in a huff (because you told him your dad was the vice president of Greyhound and you didn't need a car) and took your dog with him and your dad sends you that plane ticket, even though he is disapproving, then you know good and well Dad will also send you food money, when it comes right down to it.

Plus, your boyfriend who lived in the same nice gated community that you lived in also has parents who will probably send him money too, if he kind of begs.

Even her down and out years weren't the downest and outest.

Michele

[olive]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

I'll help: She's rich and famous.

..I don't get this new trend of blessed everyone is so blessed i see it all over twitter and facebook
that's not "BLESSED" that is usually the result of hard work , but in her case luck , Money make things easier both good things and bad . and fame is not all it's cracked up to be , people who crave it usually have a reason a need to feel loved .she's more tragic she gave up a man she loved for a career , she gave up any children for a career drugs almost took the career and her life she's lucky she had a man who took her with him fleetwood mac did not want her she survived drug addition twice and she still has a viable career that's luck and determination

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by olive

..I don't get this new trend of blessed everyone is so blessed i see it all over twitter and facebook
that's not "BLESSED" that is usually the result of hard work , but in her case luck ,

I think the way the word blessed has been used, it's interchangeable with the word "lucky." I mean, it's just a word choice, maybe it has to do with religious upbringing or maybe it doesn't, but basically they words are synonymous, used this way. If I narrowly escape getting hit by a train I might say I was blessed or I might say I was lucky, but I'd mean the same thing.

Michele

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

I *did* wonder though about her reference to her relationship with Mick-- is she pissed at him for something? Usually she says "I loved Mick and Mick loved me but it couldn't work so we ended it" (though really he ended it by going off with Sara, but I digress...) But she was very unromantic about it on this show... drugs were to blame, it hurt a lot of people and for what.... "it led to nothing". Just a quite different tone than she usually takes about that whole relationship.

I recall in a 2003 audio interview she basically said what she said in this interview. She called it a stupid mistake.

I don't think that her perception of him as one of her great loves necessarily has much to do with the affair at all, honestly. I think she might consider him one even if that whole disaster had never happened.

[SummerlongBoots]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

I thought she looked fabulous in all the candid photos of her with her brother and her mom. Those were really recent and she looked AMAZING in some of them and like she was 35-- and they were candid shots, not professionally done. She looked younger in those than in the show.

I thought it was very interesting that she said, in talking about Matthew , "I just wanted to get my hands on that baby". I've read several different interviews with people around her where those very words were used "she really just wanted to get her hands on that baby". I think it was a time when Stevie was still on some level dealing with children she didn't have (not to bring up a controversial subject) and on some twisted level (not evil twisted, just drug-fueled fantasy twisted) she felt like this baby was brought into her life to, I don't know, maybe compensate for all that. I don't think it was so much about creating a home for the kid as it was more about her trying to fulfill a need of her own. I suspect the realities of a baby and childrearing opened her eyes pretty quickly.... Still, I thought it was honest of her to use those words.

I *did* wonder though about her reference to her relationship with Mick-- is she pissed at him for something? Usually she says "I loved Mick and Mick loved me but it couldn't work so we ended it" (though really he ended it by going off with Sara, but I digress...) But she was very unromantic about it on this show... drugs were to blame, it hurt a lot of people and for what.... "it led to nothing". Just a quite different tone than she usually takes about that whole relationship.

I was going to pull out a few things that I agree with and highlight them, but reread the post and realized, I agree 100% with your entire thought process here.

I highlighted your comment about filling her own need because I thought the same thing. Grief is very tricky and can warp your reality when you're stable, but throw in the drugs and perhaps even a maternal instint that was flickering and I can see this playing out.

I highlighted the "it led to nothing" comment of Stevie's because I personally detected "a woman scorned" when she said it. It was a quick and slightly bitter response (in my opinion)

She also said the only reason "it" happened was because they were the last two left standing at the end of the night . . . yet some days he's the love of her life. Maybe only when she's not pissed at him, lol.

[SummerlongBoots]

Originally Posted by michelej1

And even before she became rich and famous, apparently she grew up in a loving family with supportive parents. She grew up with affluent parents. She was pretty blessed even before she became a star. Many people in showbusiness have escaped horrible pasts and that's what fueled their ambition and drive -- and substance use. As far as we know, Stevie didn't have to do that, so that gave her a leg up even before worldwide success came.

For years, Siskel & Ebert used to praise this "Up" series that looked at the same set of children from different backgrounds starting at age 7 and then continuing every 7 years to see how their lives had changed. The documentary began in 1964 and they've just released their newest installment where those 7 year old kids are now 56! I didn't watch it when I first heard about it, but because I wanted to see 56 up, I caught up on all the old ones and it's just amazing how much of these children's lives were shaped from age 7, just based on the families that they were born into. The majority of them became what life had mapped out for them to become at birth.


Michele

Hey Michele, thanks for this tidbit! I've never heard of this series before but I'd love to see it! Sounds fascinating!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by SummerlongBoots

Hey Michele, thanks for this tidbit! I've never heard of this series before but I'd love to see it! Sounds fascinating!

If you get Netflix, it's streaming on Netflix.

Michele

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by SummerlongBoots

I was going to pull out a few things that I agree with and highlight them, but reread the post and realized, I agree 100% with your entire thought process here.

I highlighted your comment about filling her own need because I thought the same thing. Grief is very tricky and can warp your reality when you're stable, but throw in the drugs and perhaps even a maternal instint that was flickering and I can see this playing out.

I highlighted the "it led to nothing" comment of Stevie's because I personally detected "a woman scorned" when she said it. It was a quick and slightly bitter response (in my opinion)

She also said the only reason "it" happened was because they were the last two left standing at the end of the night . . . yet some days he's the love of her life. Maybe only when she's not pissed at him, lol.

thanks, Summerlong Boots!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who heard the Mick comment and detected an undercurrent of.... something.

Though if as someone said she described the relationship in a similar fashion as far back as 2003, maybe it isn't about anything recent but about something else. SYW was in 2003, wasn't it? Would she have been miffed at him for something related to that whole deal? I guess we'll never know. Maybe it's just time and age changing one's perspective on various relationships (Joe, Mick, etc...)

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by michelej1

For years, Siskel & Ebert used to praise this "Up" series that looked at the same set of children from different backgrounds starting at age 7 and then continuing every 7 years to see how their lives had changed. The documentary began in 1964 and they've just released their newest installment where those 7 year old kids are now 56! I didn't watch it when I first heard about it, but because I wanted to see 56 up, I caught up on all the old ones and it's just amazing how much of these children's lives were shaped from age 7, just based on the families that they were born into. The majority of them became what life had mapped out for them to become at birth.

I've seen most of the installments in this film series, and it is both fascinating and a little depressing too....

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Even her down and out years weren't the downest and outest.

Michele

:yes: unlike Shania Twain, Stevie was poor but not po'

[jkmaletic]

Thanks again to skip's download. With some trial and error, I figured out how to burn it onto a dvd. Now I have a hard copy forever.


Jamie

[skcin]

Originally Posted by vivfox

Another complaint I have about Stevie is that, yes she was an alcoholic. She was drunk every day for many years. Even relying on a shot of tequila before going onstage makes you an alcoholic. I never believed her when she said she took a shot because someone who had spent as many years as she had drinking would need a heck of a lot more than a shot to calm ones nerves.

I know Stevie liked brandy, but I've never heard that she was "drunk every day for many years." I'm not sure what you're basing your diagnosis on, having no real personal knowledge of Stevie's life. How do you know how much she was drinking each day, and for what period of time?

Addictive personality? Yes. Drug addict? Absolutely. Alcoholic? I don't know about that...

And having a shot before a show is hardly a reliance on alcohol. Much more likely it was more of a tradition, or it was in her head that she needed it before going on.

Originally Posted by michelej1

It's true. She told us the doctor just started her on a couple of blue pills and then she built up to more gradually. Giving that all to Glen for the first time really could have done him some serious damage.

I'm hoping that she's laughing because she's incredulous that she asked him to do it & that he actually DID IT.

Originally Posted by olive

..I don't get this new trend of blessed everyone is so blessed i see it all over twitter and facebook
that's not "BLESSED" that is usually the result of hard work , but in her case luck , Money make things easier both good things and bad . and fame is not all it's cracked up to be , people who crave it usually have a reason a need to feel loved .she's more tragic she gave up a man she loved for a career , she gave up any children for a career drugs almost took the career and her life she's lucky she had a man who took her with him fleetwood mac did not want her she survived drug addition twice and she still has a viable career that's luck and determination

As someone else mentioned, she was blessed to grow up with a loving & supportive family who cared for her & supported her. Family members were all healthy & happy according to all accounts. She was blessed with intelligence & talent as well.

What do YOU qualify as "blessed?"

[jkmaletic]

Great points Paula. Totally agree.


~ Jamie

[The Catdancer]

I think Stevie thinks she had a rough life. She was used to food on the table, she never had to worry about gas money or having money period. But than she lives with Lindsey and all of a sudden she has to work to make rent, food, gas etc. For a rich girl that's rough. I'm sure both families supported them but they had to ask for it and that was rough. As someone pointed out (I think it was Ed) she never had to deal with a broken home, violence, emotional/physical abuse (that we know of) or real poverty. For some people having a slice of pizza or a hotdog for dinner is a feast, for her it was a sign of poverty. So in her mind she had it rough.

As for the addiction, speaking as an addict myself, it's not a choice. The very first time you take drugs or alcohol or whatever it is, it triggers something inside you never knew existed and you become addicted to that feeling. As I understand it, coke makes you feel you're on top of the world, you can do anything you want to, all your insecurities are gone. I've never used it myself but I've listened to people who did and they all say the same thing: you feel like you're the bomb. It's basically the same thing for me with alcohol. It made me feel like I was this awesome, funny party girl who just did crazy things when she was a little buzzed (when in actual fact I was drunk out of my mind , not awesome and funny at all and I made huge mistakes, mistakes I still regret even though I made them 25 years ago). For me it's easy to understand why she got addicted to coke and applaud her, she went to rehab once and that was it. It took me several times to finally say:"Enough". And the Klonopin.... I get the addiction to it but what I don't get is why she never sued that doctor. Or made his name public. This dr. should have his licence revoked, he's a danger to his patients.