A Legendary Meeting
"Good morning, grandkids"- Grandma Shirley Curry
Shirley Curry. A normal, average lady who got a computer from her son and decided to play video games on it.
One day started to play Skyrim on her computer and decided to record her gameplay. What happened next would change her life.
She went viral. Amassing in thousands of comments and millions of views. All for playing Skyrim.
At first bewildered and overwhelmed by the sudden attention, Shirley embraced the community of gamers. At first, it was rough because of a stigmatization that made it seem like a senior citizen like Shirley shouldn't be playing video games. But after being a grandmother to the haters, her fan base blossomed.
Recording several different series, she became a grandmother to millions of people. All of whom write to her and send her letters and gifts. Even I sent her a gift for Mother's Day 3 years ago this very week.
Between conventions for gamers and Skyrim fanatics to eventually becoming an NPC in the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim game, Shirley has truly become a celebrity.
The Meeting
For a while now Shirley has been meeting various viewers from her channel to have lunch at The Golden Lamb in Lebanon, Ohio where she currently resides. And this week I made the drive from Iowa to see her. After 525 miles, 11 hours on the road and a time zone crossing, I made it to Ohio just in time for lunch.
For Shirley, this is normal. For me, this one a singular moment in history that likely won't be repeated. I was breathing a little hard, heart racing, palms sweating...excited!
We sat down for lunch and we became friends.
Shirley has a couple of blogs that she's made, for things she's passionate about. One of them being a bible blog. Shirley has always been very open and honest about who she is. She doesn't curse because she is a Christian. And this piqued my interest.
Faith
Shirley is a Baptist Christian who believes Jesus is her Lord and Savior and died for her sins. She believes in God the Father, the Creator, and has a deep love for the bible and knowing God more through it. Her current study is through Daniel and Revelation.
Hearing about her faith, is what drew us closer. We all have family by blood, but family by faith runs deeper. Shirley is a sister in Christ, and it resonated through our visit.
We talked about how churches were, are and are becoming. I grew up Baptist myself and could relate to Shirley's experience. Many churches seemed good back in the day until they traded sound doctrine for cultural elevation. Many bowing the knee to government oversight with Covid in locking doors and restricting local worship.
Many pastors who used their skills of oration to influence the masses into funding their personal fever dreams. But while many are false teachers, some giants of the faith never stooped so low. In fact, they remained faithful in ministry and bore much fruit from it.
Pastor John MacArthur is one of the faithful.
Celebrity?
I refer to Shirley as a celebrity. The "gaming grandma" has been her life for the last 11-ish years. But if you ask her, she'll deny it and say she isn't a celebrity. She's so humble.
We checked out a bookstore in Lebanon where Shirley is a regular. The owner's daughter immediately spoke up saying "I know you. My whole family does.". Local shop owners know her, young adults know her, is that enough to be a celebrity?
But Shirley will still stand on the claim that she is just a normal person that nobody in Lebanon really knows.
A Quirk
Shirley loves skeletons. And dead trees. She sometimes feels strange having this fascination for skeletons and even asked for my opinion. I told her it's not a sin to have them if they are just for decoration. We all collect different things, it's nice to have a passion for them.
A Day Well Spent
After 4 hours, lunch and ice cream, shopping and conversation, the visit was over. Shirley is 90 as of this past April. She can still do a lot but her energy needs brakes. So we parted ways. But not without getting pictures and merchandise sighned. After all, My grandma is a celebrity.
"Goodbye grandkids"- Gradma Shirley
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