How many of you have heard Disney’s song, It’s a Small World (After All)? Unless you’ve been living under a rock since the early 1960s, you’ve probably heard it at least once in your life. (In fact, after just reading the song title, I’ll bet many of you are humming it right now.)
While the song can be annoying if heard too often (or it gets stuck in your head), the lyrics are true. It is a small world—as Dad learned several years ago.
Dad and “The Stranger”
Those of you who know him, know my dad has never met a stranger. He’ll talk to anyone. It doesn’t matter where he is. Even traveling halfway around the world, give him five minutes and he’ll learn your life’s story.
In this particular instance, my parents had traveled to Houston for a doctor’s appointment. (This occurred prior to Covid. Back when you could sit next to other people in the waiting room.) As expected, Dad began talking to the man seated beside him. One of his favorite initial questions is: Where are you from? Followed by: Have you lived here/there long? In turn, Dad shares where he’s from and how long he’s lived there.
This time, Dad received an unexpected response. The stranger knew someone—a cousin, in fact—who lived in Dad’s hometown. When Dad asked the man for the cousin’s name, the answer shocked him. The stranger’s cousin was none other than Dad himself! (Dad was the man’s mother’s first cousin, but he hadn’t seen her in decades, which explains why he didn’t know her son.)
Let’s Talk
What are the odds you could walk into an office in another city and sit down next to a distant relative? No way of knowing if you don’t talk to the people around you. But in this ever-shrinking world, maybe the odds are better than you’d think. So next time you travel somewhere—be it a local business or another country—talk to the stranger beside you. (Correction, six feet away from you.) They might just be a long-lost relative.
DYK that because it’s played on a constant loop all day long in Disney theme parks around the world, It’s a Small World (After All) is said to be the most translated and played song ever? “The song’s tune and lyrics are the only Disney creation never to be copyrighted.” And thanks to a UNICEF request, remains “a gift to the children of the world.”
For more history about the song, click here.