<snooty>Ahem. It was my distinct pleasure to dine with granddaughter of Maggie Mae Setzer, after whom our fair town was named. Sniff.<end snooty>
Reality? Dee Dee got in touch with me, hoping for a repeat of our first encounter. She was not disappointed, nor was I.
One of the first people to cross my threshold at Timberwolf Creek was Patty Kosier. Patty is Maggie’s daughter -THE Maggie of “Maggie Valley”. I was scared to death and Patty and her husband Claude couldn’t have been kinder and more genuine. By the time they left, we were fast friends. They came every year -and then Claude passed away. Patty got in touch with me from Texas, where she lives, and told me that she wanted to come stay with me for her annual visit to Maggie Valley, but she was nervous about traveling without Claude. Her niece would come with her, just to get her settled in. Enter niece Dee Dee.
Patty arrived, with Dee Dee and her friend, Michelle. It didn’t take too long to do the math, and figure out that if Dee Dee was Patty’s niece… and Dee Dee’s mother was Patty’s sister… that Dee Dee’s grandmother was none other than Maggie herself. Wow! But that wasn’t where the similarity ended. Dee Dee was just as much fun as her aunt had been that very first day. Patty checked in at 3:00. I walked her group over to the little guest cottage… and at 7:00, Larry had to come find me.
There we were, laughing until we cried, cutting up and telling stories, words falling over each other, lots of, “Yes! Yes! That happened to me the same way!” It was one of those Ya-Ya Sisters afternoons, when the fountain of friendship just bubbles over. We all knew we were sharing something special. Nice chemistry, and good feelings all around.
When Dee Dee and Michelle planned another trip out here this summer, it was with real delight that I made plans to meet with them. We decided to meet for lunch up at the Mountaineer, where you can have a glass of wine on the screened porch -very much a ‘summer camp’ kind of place.
Lunch time. Right. Larry just rolled his eyes and smiled when I headed out the door for ‘lunch’. I got back at almost six. Happy, glowing, wide smiles, effervescent with stories and shared laughs -what a wonderful time!
So here it is, evidence of my brush with celebrity: me and Maggie’s granddaughter. Hoo-ah.
