The most pervasive element of Kyoto’s streets the past two days has been the Japanese schoolchildren, all dressed in their identical uniforms with the yellow hats as identifiable as blue UN helemets in the developing world.
Outside some temple this morning a bunch of super short, probably 10 year old girls all dressed in a black uniform with pink umbrellas came up to me, turned around, and posed for the camera. They motioned for me to stay put, so I did and flashed a toothy smile. Afterwards they said in unison, “Thank you!”. For the next hour I kicked myself for not asking the teacher to take another picture of us with my camera, mostly so I could track the height differential (I am heightist, after all).
Later, this afternoon, on a public bus, four school children boarded and were feeling goofy. Three girls and one guy. I watched them and got annoyed that the girls were picking on the guy. Tugging his backpack and the like. So being the Benevolant American Policeman that I am, I stepped into the line of fire so the girls would stop picking on the guy. They weren’t going to tug on my backpack. My Intervention saved the day for the cute little boy and the rest of his ride was in peace. Got to help a brother out, you know?
Ben Casnocha is the author of the bestselling business book
‘My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley”, which the New York Times called “precocious, informative, and entertaining.” He founded Comcate, Inc., an e-government software company, at age 14. Ben’s work has been featured in dozens of international media including CNN, USA Today, CNBC, and ABC’s 20/20. At a conference in Paris PoliticsOnline named him one of the “25 most influential people in the world of internet and politics”.
BusinessWeek recently named Ben “one of America’s top young entrepreneurs.” He writes prolifically on his blog which the San Jose Business Journal called one of the “Top 25 Blogs in Silicon Valley.” He’s also a commentator for public radio’s “Marketplace.”
In addition, Ben has given speeches at dozens of universities and organizations around the world. He has traveled to more than 25 countries and he also co-runs the Silicon Valley Junto, an intellectual discussion society for business and technology executives. In his free time Ben enjoys playing chess, ping-pong, reading, and writing.
