It really is a small world after all
It's a world of laughter A world of tears It's a world of hopes And a world of fears There's so much that we share That it's time we're aware It's a small world after all
Do you remember going to Disneyland? Do you remember the ride "It's A Small World?" Do you remember the song you heard while on the ride? You get on a gondola. You cruise down some water. You see exhibits of different countries. They're all playing the "It's a Small World" song in the language of that country.
The idea of the ride is that while there may be nearly two hundred countries in the world and there are billions of people on Earth, we're all connected. Because:
It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small, small world.
By the end of the ride, what you're really thinking is, get me off this ride. Then you're spending the rest of the day trying to get that damn song out of your head. And yet, there's some truth to this small world/we're all connected thing.
Last Friday, I'm out to dinner with my girl-friend (do we still use that word in our 60's?). We're joined by her son and his girlfriend (they're younger, the word still works for them), who are in town from SoCal. They've brought along another friend, who is visiting from New York City. We're eating pizza (what else would out of towners want to eat?) and chatting. The topic moves on to last week's college cheating scandal and the role played by the University of Southern California. The reason for this is because friend from NYC attended USC. Somewhere during this conversation, it came up that her father attended the University of Oklahoma. It was then pointed out that I also attended OU.
You can probably see where this is going, but let's take it just a bit slower, okay? Thanks.
I went to school in Norman almost fifty years ago. There are anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 students on campus each year. Doing the math, this makes the odds of knowing her dad....ummmm...really slim. I mean really, really, really slim. But, still we moved on with this fact finding mission:
Me: How old is your father? NYC/USC friend: 66 Me: I'M 66!!!! What's his name? NYC/USC friend: ____ ____ (I'm not outing anyone) Me: (shockingly) I know your dad!!
There is just one moon And one golden sun And a smile means Friendship to ev'ryone Though the mountains divide And the oceans are wide It's a small world after all
Me and friend's dad were freshmen at the same time at Oklahoma. There were four to five thousand freshmen in our class. That lessens those overwhelming odds, but still makes it unlikely to know each other....and yet it happened. Were we close friends? No. Did we know each other well? No. But we did and still do have a group of mutual friends or at least know a lot of the same people.
After close to five decades, it's remarkable for this to occur, but maybe not as much as we would think. The reason for this is simple. SOCIAL MEDIA!
Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever is the new thing, we're all connected in ways that we weren't less than twenty years ago. Check your Facebook friend's list and see how many not so close friends or friends of a friend of a friend with whom you are connected. There may be more of those types than close friends and relatives.
And that's how I now know NYC/USC friend's father. I'm sure I can go back and find comments over a Sooner football game, a Cubs-Cardinals baseball game or a death of a mutual friend. The good old days have become good new ones.
That's the story of how people who had no idea existed just a few days ago, have a connection. I wonder how many more of these exist? Do any of you readers have children visiting Chicago? I'm free next weekend. Pizza, anyone?
It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small, small world
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