A Small World, or Bob's Your Uncle

by Heather

Once upon a time, Florida had a governor named Bob Graham. My name is Graham, so that is rather cool. Now, I knew we weren't related--my dad and his family just came from Scotland while the Graham family that the Governor came from had been in the country--even in the South Florida area--for decades. But I really liked Governor Graham.

He was decisive. And my favorite stance he took was when the then-governor of Alabama wanted the Florida panhandle. Now sometimes it's true that the Florida panhandle is called South Alabama. And that's okay. We like our neighbors and it's delightful that Louisiana and Alabama friends come to the panhandle beaches. 

But it's our panhandle. To me, Florida is the amazing, quirky state that it is because we have areas that are so vastly different. The north of the state is Deep South, St. Augustine is the oldest city continually inhabited by European settlers in the U.S., the center of the state is theme-park-ville and the south of the state has become completely international; Spanish is the dominant language, while you'll hear Brazilians who hail largely from mother Portugal, Slavic languages--we have a nice population of Russians--and the occasional German, French, and Italian.

We have the Keys, where you enter another world, and you have the west coast, and the magic of Sarasota and the Ringling mansion and so much more.

To get back to the point, it was rather an incident. The governor of Alabama really
wanted to panhandle. And Bob Graham was fierce in defending it.

We in Florida 
came together--no one is getting our panhandle!

So, to try to make a long story a bit shorter, I really liked this man, though I didn't know him. I thought he was great for my state, and I love my state. He went on to serve longer in politics.

When I would go to a restaurant, I never lied. But when people asked me if I was related I would try to pretend that I just didn't want to say so, or use our affiliation. I always got seated quickly, and people were so nice!

As I write this, I'm getting ready to leave Thrillerfest, an amazing experience all on its own. I got to "date" Harley Jane Kozak at the banquet where she was up for an award. I posed with R.L. Stein, Jon Land, and F. Paul Wilson with a smart car for Reading is Fundamental. 

And I met Bob Graham. Yes, my favorite governor has now written a thriller. So, T-fest was a real thrill--Bob and I now have a picture together, and we have decided that surely, somehow, we are cousins! 

And what about you? Ever meet a stranger who shares your last name? And did you claim them or disown them?