Points2Ponder by Alan P. Scaglione

I was sitting at dinner this past Saturday. It was a Mexican restaurant where my wife and I take our grandson Jett. We were playing with his helium balloon (for Jett, not for Nano—okay, it was his balloon, but I was having fun with it!) when all of a sudden someone walks by and Jett’s eyes get as big as silver dollars! He was mesmerized! It was like he had seen Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts? Okay, maybe Myley Cyrus or Justin Bieber? You know what I’m saying…this kid was starstruck!


I looked at the person who had walked by, and, at first glance I was like, who is he looking at? And why do they have such an impact on my grandson, who, by the way, is barely two years old. Is he even old enough to be starstruck? Who does he know or recognize who would stop him from playing with his balloon AND ME, just to keep looking over his shoulder at this person?

Let me describe the object of his attention: 3 feet tall, if that, dressed in pink, possible Mexican descent, jet black hair, cut off like a page boy. Apparently, she was not wearing her backpack or…I am sure I would have recognized her too!

Jett whispered to me the one word that gave it away: “Dora!”

Yep! You guessed it…just a mere 10 feet away from me, sitting with her family was the celebrity otherwise known as: Dora the Explorer!

Guess she was exploring Mexican Restaurants that night!

I had to laugh—my grandson was convinced…his cartoon character that he watches every day, had come to life and… was eating a taco!

Oh the wonder of television! Another new American idol born…and, for this 2 year old boy, he could not be more impressed!

But, it did make me wonder??

POINTS2PONDER Who would get me to stop dead in my tracks? Who would I be impressed to see?

I remember thinking, in my younger years, how I would love to meet Amy Grant, the contemporary Christian artist I have followed my whole life. She has written songs that touched my heart and fed my soul and, I always thought, I would love to just sit down and have dinner with her.

I’ve met a few football greats over the years: Troy Aikman in the middle of Outback- I’m ashamed to say, asked for his autograph, for my son, “of course!” And then there was that time I waited in line at the Aurora Mall outside Denver, Colorado to meet my football hero..Mr. John Elway! I remember shaking his hand, meeting his wife and kids and telling him how I was a Denver fan from Tampa, Florida just because of him! I know, the ladies are scratching their heads, but the men, we understand, right?

But today, at this point my life, who would make me stop and go Awwwwwe! Just one, I am sure.

So, I decided to play along. I went up to the table where “Dora” was having dinner, and I could feel my grandson’s eyes watching my every move. I whispered to the parents that my grandson thought their daughter was Dora! They laughed and pointed to Jett and had “Dora” wave. It could have been the Queen of England.

I looked back and there was my 2 year old grandson….smiling ear to ear! And then, he waved back and said “Hi Dora!” Priceless!

By the way…that one for me? Described best in one of my favorite songs:

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel

Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still

Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine…

Yes, I can only imagine!