Candace Payne got more than her five minutes of internet infamy - and all from wearing a Star Wars Chewbacca mask.
The mom made social history after her live Facebook video went viral, racking up more than 3 million shares almost overnight. The calls came swift and fast, invites to hang in James Corden's famous car and Facebook's HQ. All for one ordinary mom who took a video of herself wearing a Chewie mask.
The internet webs are indeed a strange phenomenon. You just never know what will grab the public by the heart strings, and pull hard. A mom and her mask.
"That's not me making the noise; it's the mask," says Payne, cackling for the camera at the Wookie sounds.
Not surprisingly, the mask - which is not even new - is flying off the shelves at Kohl’s. Other retailers like Walmart and Disney have jumped on board, trying to cash in.
But the truth is, the kind of joy Candace Payne has cannot be bought or sold. The kind of joy doesn't come in a cardboard box. It has to do with Candace herself. It has to do with her infectious laugh, her lighthearted attitude to life.
That kind of joy cannot be replicated, though many will try.
Maybe the internet isn't such a mystery, after all. People naturally love happy, and continue to seek out happy whenever and wherever they can find it. Yes, even when it's just a mom sitting in a car with her Chewie mask.
It may have been your birthday, Candace, but you're the one who gave all the gifts. Your infectious laughter. Your huge smile. Your simple appreciation for the little things. Your honouring the big kid inside you.
"It's the simple joys," she says, wiping the happy tears from her eyes.
You betcha.
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