You guessed it — it’s Oprah! In fact, Ms. Winfrey is on the cover of her magazine every month. Oprah in green, Oprah in earth tones, Oprah similing, Oprah laughing. Change is a constant in life, but one verity is truly eternal. On the cover of O magazine will be Oprah herself.

At the monthly staff meeting when they discuss the cover shot, I’m thinking that once every few years, a staffer — someone brand new, and young — suggests they put, say, Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. The silence in the room must be deafening.

Afterward that staffer is taken out and transferred to the stenography pool, never to be heard from again. And then the meetings return to their timeless rhythm, as unvarying as the changing of the seasons…