Ah, the miracles of YouTube.
Via Gizmodo comes a modern day story of mistaken identity and new constructions of the family unit: James West, an Australian bloke, had been mistakenly CC’ed emails intended for an American James West from the Tran family in Florida for three years. This year, the Aussie decided to look into those emails and–despite the fact that he’d never met and wasn’t actually related to the them–found an unexpected kinship with the Trans. He decided to respond to the Trans’ Thanksgiving invitation through YouTube, and they kindly let him into their home for a holiday meal.
Watch James explain his story in his own words and meet the real Trans and the American James West below.
I find this story hilarious and heartwarming. Sure, it’s often suggested that the internet has created a new generation of virtually engaged but socially disconnected youngsters, but if it weren’t for the instantaneity of email, how else could we get this bizarre story? I love how the Trans come to think of Australian James West as a “long lost relative from Vietnam.” This is the stuff of novels and movies, I tell you!
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