They say Ms. Mary and Ms. Eleanor are, well, the sunshine at their assisted living facility, so it was no surprise recently when the friends were caught doing the Nae Nae, albeit their personal version, at Somerby at Peachtree City.
As the popular hip-hop song "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" played in the background, they broke out the moves, doing the "stanky" leg and whipping it with such verve that Somerby's lifestyle director Jessica Holt couldn't help but break out the video camera.
“We make it a priority to surprise and delight our residents, but this week, the tables were turned,” said Chief Operating Officer Amy McKinley.
Turned, indeed.
You’d have to see it to believe it, but in just a matter of hours and thanks to Holt’s quick thinking, Ms. Mary, 80, and Ms. Eleanor, 83, had become quite the Internet sensation, amassing more than 5 million views.
“People from all over were commenting on the video and tagging their own best friends,” said Pete Toal, the community liaison at Somerby, a community of about 200 assisted living and memory care residents.
No surprise. For more than a year now, we’ve been privileged to watch a little girl upstage Santa, a Massachusetts school principal, and any number of high school and pro football players dance to Silento’s popular tune.
Now we can add to that Peachtree City grandmas.
Toal said that when Holt shared the video with him, he decided to post it on Somerby’s Facebook page so that the families and friends of the residents could view it.
“It was a spur of the moment thing,” he said. “When it started to get a following, I decided to push it on social media.”
Mary Thompson and Eleanor Fredriksen became quick friends in June 2014 when Thompson moved into the assisted living facility. The two have been nearly inseparable ever since.
Toal said the response to the video was a surprise. He believes seeing the friends in such a spontaneous real-life moment is what added fuel to it.
“I think it’s the happiness you see in the video,” he said.
I think he’s probably right.
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