I learnt

by Punnushree chikke gowda (India)

I didn't expect to find USA

“What attracts the crowd?” watching the holiday crowd on the beach of San Diego I questioned three of my friends. One being a foodie said food, another who was a musician, said “surely music it is!” and the third being a party freak said bikini and beer. I smiled and said, “I am yet to find out”. We were a group of four friends from India enjoying what San Diego had to offer - walking along the sun-kissed beaches, drenched in the warm waters of the Pacific, the laughs, the drinks, and all the fun that comes with it when energetic friends are around. It was late evening and the foodie in our group by now was a hungry hippo. He said he was craving for Japanese cuisine. As we were hunting for a restaurant, we witnessed people of all ages, from young kids to adults, waiting patiently in a line. Curiosity piqued us, we found out that they were all waiting for an ice-cream sandwich! “This must be one hell of an ice-cream sandwich!”, we thought. We decided to have a good dinner first and then come back for dessert. We had a king jumbo dinner, felt full and satiated, decided to take a light walk. As we were strolling around, the foodie exclaimed “Oh no! We forgot the ice-cream sandwich“. Dessert being an integral part of his life, he announced, “I can’t miss it. Period”. It was 10:30 PM and to our surprise, the ice-cream sandwich shop was still open. The line had grown longer than before, it had extended to almost two blocks! Determined to see the end of it, we stood in line for the ultimate prize. Finally, after 45 minutes of waiting, at about 11:15 PM we reached close to the storefront. As we were deciding what to buy, a convertible red Bugatti Veyron with an open-top caught my attention. Just then the signal turned red, the car came to a halt right in front of us. It was so close that I could practically touch it. In the car was a handsome, well-built man with a beautiful girl. While his attention got drawn to the people immersed in ice-cream sandwiches, mine was fixated on him. At some point, our gazes met for a brief moment. Something about him kept nagging me “he looks very familiar, not sure who.” Unsure of who it was, pointing at the car, I asked my friend if he recognized him. “Oh it’s Cena!” he cried out. “Wow, it’s John Cena! Seriously! My WWE champ!!!” I exclaimed as I started jiving from within. I reminisced, Rock and John Cena were my childhood heroes and I enjoyed their bouts and displays of superhuman strength. Amused on one side and culture shock on the other, I told my friend “Looks like people here give celebrities privacy even in public, unlike India. I did not see anyone excited, running for a picture or autograph. Maybe celebrities here just go around like any common man”. As the conversation went on, the signal turned green, and he revved his Bugatti and sped past us. I was blissfully lost in thoughts until the girl in-front tapped me and broke my reverie. She timidly inquired if the man in the car was John Cena. Before I could finish uttering yes, she started yelling and jumping in ecstasy “I saw John Cena! I saw John Cena!''. Within seconds, everyone, who were until then lost in the world of their own, realized what was going on. They started shouting and calling their friends to brag about seeing John Cena with his girlfriend. This excitement and chaos in the crowd made me realize fans are fans, no matter if it's India or the USA. It was just that for that instant ice-cream sandwich had a bigger fan base than John Cena. Maybe even John Cena would have been surprised by the popularity of ice-cream sandwiches over him. Truly that day Ice-cream sandwich had won over John Cena!!! Though the ice-cream sandwich was not that great, I had got the answer to my question. It’s the crowd that attracts the crowd and nothing else!!