Local woman’s fall racks up 23M views on social media

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, June 15, 2016

 Hanks makes her now-famous strut down the shoe aisle.

Hanks makes her now-famous strut down the shoe aisle.

Linda Boatwright Hanks of Lenox is quickly approaching Facebook stardom as her high-heel wearing crash racks up the views.

Posted on June 4, the views on the 2.12-minute video sat at just over 23.3 million Monday afternoon – that’s right “million.”

Since then, it’s made the rounds on social media, and the number continues to grow.

“I can’t believe it,” said the third grade teacher at Repton Junior High and wife of John “Butch” Hanks, retired physical education teacher at W.S. Neal Middle School. “It makes me realize just how much people enjoy good, clean fun, because that’s exactly what we were having that day.”

Linda Boatwright Hanks and her son on one of their many adventures

Linda Boatwright Hanks and her son on one of their many adventures

Hanks said she, her sisters – Pam Harris and Lisa Ansley, both of Castleberry – and a friend thought they would spend a day shopping in Pensacola, Fla. What they didn’t realize was they would make their own version of Internet history that day, Hanks said.

The video shows Hanks sporting – and sashaying – down the aisle in a pair of three-inch heels and the subsequent tumble she experienced as the women were shopping in the Florida Goodwill store.

“My sister Pam had gotten a new cell phone, and she was trying it out that day,” Hanks said. “What that video shows is how we are on any given day when we get together. We love to have a good time. That day, though, I wasn’t in the mood to shop, so I sat down and waited on them. Of course, when I saw those shoes, I knew what I had to do.”

Hanks said she and her father, the late Harvey Boatwright of Brewton, share similar personalities.

“There’s not much that embarrasses me, as that video shows,” Hanks said. “My dad loved a good laugh, and so do I. When my son, Dusty, asked if he could put it on Facebook, I said I didn’t care.”

In fact, it was her son, a pilot with the non-profit group Pilots for Christ who is currently working to earn his commercial piloting license, who posted the video.

“Could I have let it be the most embarrassing moment?” she asked. “Of course I could, but that’s not me. (Dusty) got a big laugh out of it, and we’ve enjoyed that people have enjoyed it. Most people would’ve thought that it would’ve been an embarrassment, but not me. I’m happy to make people laugh.”

At the end of the day, Hanks said she didn’t bring home the shoes that have brought her so much notoriety.

“If I had known what it was going to be like, I sure would have bought those shoes,” she said. “Look, I’m not a small person, and I couldn’t get any traction on that floor when I tried to get up. We were all too busy laughing, but that’s how it is with us. We’re just happy to be together. Now, we’re thrilled that everyone can see what a good time we all have together.”