Outsiders need to fear us Chicagoans again

The final “Oprah Winfrey Show” airs today and then she’ll leave town, sort of the way Michael Jordan left us in 1998.When the shock is over and emptiness sets in it#146;ll be time to reflect on what we had.Some people here take pride in the notion that during the time His Royal Airness and the Queen of Daytime TV graced Chicago, our town no longer was considered globally to be a mobster hideout.To be honest, though, I preferred when we were known for a gangster, Al Capone, rather than for a talker, Oprah, and a baller, Michael.The newer us looks good on paper but in reality it isn#146;t. Not if you ever leave the metropolitan area and value your life, wallet or both.OK, OK, even I have to admit that it#146;s a little sad that for the first time since the mid-1980s there won#146;t be a Winfrey or a Jordan living and working here.Think of how much money Oprah made for the likes of Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and any author whose book she promoted. Then think of how much Michael made for Mr. Pip, Mr. Pax and any author who wrote about him.Oprah gave away cars to women in the audience who drove to the salon; Michael sold sneakers to men in the stands who drove to the hoop; everybody wins.Now Rosie O#146;Donnell#146;s new talk show #8212; on the Oprah Winfrey Network, of course #8212; is moving into Harpo Studios to fill the space Oprah had occupied.That can#146;t be a good thing. It#146;s a little like Corey Benjamin moving into the United Center to fill the space Jordan had occupied.So, anyway, not only isn#146;t there a Marshall Field#146;s on State Street anymore or a Mayor Daley in City Hall, Oprah is moving to California and Michael already is back in North Carolina.We all can make up our own minds about what we#146;ll miss the most among them: Let#146;s see, there#146;s the Christmas decorations or the guy in short pants or the woman who talks a lot or the statesman who barely could state a completely coherent sentence.Personally, I still miss the old hoodlum image of Al Capone more than anything.Oh, for the good old days when Big Al was the face of Chicago and nobody would dare mess with us.For all that Jordan and Winfrey did for Chicago#146;s six-county area, neither protected us when we traveled outside it.It used to be that if you took a trip nationally or internationally and mentioned Chicago, people would make a fist with an index finger pointing out, shout #147;Bang, bang#148; with their eyes bulging and give you your rightful space.Nobody was going to try to take liberties with you. Everybody feared Capone or his gangster descendants would come down hard in response.When Jordan represented who we are, strangers would take shadow jump shots in your face. When Winfrey did, they would make that yakking motion with their hand.Then they would pick your pocket as if you were from Boise or Bangor.Back home it#146;s great to think of us as more civilized now than in Capone#146;s time, but on the road you#146;d rather have local thugs think you#146;re a wiseguy arriving to conduct wiseguy business.So, kinder Oprah and gentler Michael, thanks for the memories and all you did for Chicago.Now get out of the way and let the ghost of Big Al back in to toughen up our image.mimrem@dailyherald.com