Grandma and Beverly screamed their way through a carnival that is in Miami this week. She went on every ride and she won a prize for throwing baseballs. Also a Shannon trait that I inherited. I can throw a baseball or football some distance but heaven knows where it is going to end up.
"There is a big carnival here. Beverly and I went without dates to it the other night. I went on all the rides and into every side show. In fact, I even won a prize for throwing baseballs. Also, a lady would guess your age and if she didn't hit it within two years you would get a prize. She guessed me to be 24 and I am still 21 so she had to give me a prize. I guess I must look like an old Grandma or something."
I remember taking offense at people telling me I looked like I was 25 when I was only 21. Now that I'm 27 people are surprised that I'm not younger. I'll take it.
New friends from Missoula pop up in WWII Miami. They are a Lieutenant and his wife from Missoula who read about Grandma in the Missoulian before they came to Miami and they decided to look her up. They found her and invited her over to their home.
"Tonight I am going out to that Lt. Woodworth's and his wife's place for dinner. I'm not too anxious to go now but I guess I will have a good time."
This is the second time that someone in Miami who is from Missoula, MT reached out to my Grandmother. Is Missoula a small enough city that you can do that? Maybe back then people believed that when you are from the same town you will automatically be friends? I know they were more trusting back in the day, but just because you're from the same town does not mean that you're going to get along. However, when I lived in Chicago I thirsted for people who were form Atlanta. If I heard someone even mention Georgia I was like white on rice. I pumped them for their details about where they were from and what they're thoughts on Waffle House were. We'd share our Atlanta stories and promise to hang out soon. Usually Atlanta only brought us together for the one evening, but it was always magical.
The other thought I had about the phenomenon was that it also must be a wartime paradigm. You all want to be home, and you are so far away from that place. Whenever you have a chance to make that connection and share it with someone else you lunge for it. War disrupts everyone's home and if there is something that can make your current city feel like home you reach out and make that effort.
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