If the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, maybe the quickest way to convince Greenland to be annexed by the United States is to… buy the prime minister a meal?

Well, that did happen, courtesy of the Southern hospitality of one very friendly Coast Guard member who happened to be in Greenland.

While the Campbell was at port in Greenland’s capital city of Nuuk, (Seaman Kate) Kilroy visited a diner, where she saw a stranger sitting alone and bought him a meal, just as she would have done in the small North Carolina town of Apex, outside Raleigh, where she was raised.”

“It’s just something I do,” she said. “I grew up in a family that routinely gives to others.”

The stranger turned out to be Greenland’s prime minister, Kim Kielsen.”

“We had a nice conversation,” Kilroy said. “I was in the right place at the right time, doing what I do. That’s all.”

As a result, Prime Minister Kielsen paid a visit to the Coast Guard cutter Campbell, and took her captain on a tour of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. It was a fun little encounter that resulted in a nice exercise in international relations. Plus, Seaman Kilroy was allowed to post her pictures of the trip on the Coast Guard’s official Instagram page.

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Kilroy also earned a couple of other recognitions.

In a note of thanks, the U.S. Consulate called Kilroy’s outreach the unplanned pinnacle of the Coast Guard’s 2020 summer activities with Greenland and Denmark, the service said.”

She was awarded a Coast Guard Achievement Medal and is now on her way to earning the public affairs specialist rating, the service said.”

So, does anyone remember all the hysteria over President Trump’s suggestion that the United States annex Greenland by buying it from Denmark?

As far as ideas go, it wasn’t a terrible one. It was more amusing to watch the media absolutely melt down over the idea. And it’s an easy bet that if Joe Biden suggested buying Greenland, the press would break out the pom-poms and begin cheering for our new territorial tourist destination.

While the people of Greenland might not have been terribly impressed with the offer to be bought out and join the United States, a random act of kindness in a chance encounter made for not only a great story, but a little international goodwill between the United States and Greenland.

The United States is full of people happy to treat others to dinner (or even have them over for dinner when there isn’t a global pandemic). How about it, Greenland? Interested?

Featured image: Greenland, via Barni1 on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license