A WHOLE NEW WORLD

A couple of weeks ago I was at a suburban shopping mall in the greater Vancouver area. I was on the second level and above a large open area on the first floor where the mall usually sets up a stage if they have something going on. I noticed a lot of parents and kids near the railing and looking down to whatever was happening. I was curious so I casually walked closer to see what was there.

As I got to the railing, I looked down to see a small presentation area had been set up. There two lines of parents and kids. At the front of each line was a young woman sitting on a chair. Each child seemed to get about a minute or so with either of the young ladies. The kids seemed to range from two to possibly eight years old. Every child seemed to be genuinely excited and awed to meet either woman. I saw one little person high-five one of them with gusto. Most parents took a quick photo of their child during the meetup.

For all the excitement from kids and the parents, I admit I stared at the scene for several minutes and had no idea who any of those young women were. I realized that as a single man in his 30s, there are things out there that don’t even come close to my sphere of interaction or knowledge. This was one of those things. These women were obviously popular and known to the children and their parents but I had no such knowledge of them. It bugged me that I didn’t know who these people were. I made my way downstairs to get closer to the meet and greet. There was a sign there that told me the two women were Bobs & LoLo. They were obviously children’s entertainers but knowing their names did not advance my knowledge of them one bit. I went home and looked them up on Google. It was there I learned their origins and that they are popular for their kid-friendly songs.

On that one day, I peered into a world that I usually don’t have exposure to. I wonder what other things I don’t know about.