Harry Potter – Two Decades Late to the Party

I once attended a wedding where my mother embarrassed herself and brought shame on our family by casually mentioning, “Oh this sounds like a catchy song, what is it?” We stared in disbelief. The song was “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” by Beyonce Our Mother. You might be thinking, “Dan, what’s so embarrassing about that?” This wasn’t in early 2008 – it was four months ago! Somehow my mom went all these years without ever hearing one of the most popular songs of the decade.

Sometimes we find ourselves, either by choice or by happenstance, among the small percentage of people untouched by a pop culture phenomenon. My roommate has never seen a Star Wars movie. I once dated a girl who couldn’t name a single Beatles album. In 1996 my summer camp had a dance on the basketball court and there were three kids who had no idea how to do the Macarena – I still remember the confusion and horror on their faces.