Three Fortune Cookies
As I pressed on the accelerator, I idly lined up the three packaged delights sitting next to me. Normally, I would never have played into the idea of any sort of mysticism involved in cookie-lore, nor even humored the possibility of potential truth. But this was different. This time, I had unknowingly collected three different fortune cookies from three separate Chinese restaurants. Yes, three. The coincidence was too great to ignore.
It wasn't until I was well on my way that I opened the first. One side featured a simple invitation to "Learn Chinese" and had the word "May" with the Chinese translation in Latin characters as well as the Chinese symbol things. That should come in handy if some Chinese guy wants to know the fifth month of our calendar. Surely a fortune with bilingual powers must be accurate. On the other side, just above the lucky numbers, it read:
"May you grow rich.”
Although it was definitely positive, I questioned whether it was meant to be a prediction, or just a good idea. At least it knew that I wasn't already rich, so I had to give it that.
The best part of I35 is the large number of like-minded drivers who refuse to settle for the mundane "speed limit," resulting in clumps of those who drive like a pack of wild dogs. Safety in numbers is instinctual, so I took fourth place in a line going 85, and the fear of predatory patrolmen melted away. The best part of an 85-Train is that it only needs one kind soul with a radar detector to kick it up to 90. And not only does that mean you go faster, but "90-Train" just sounds cooler.
Much like driving, success in life seems to be based around what kind of pace you set, and how many risks you are willing to take. For most people, following the speed limit is an entirely acceptable and safe choice, letting them sit back and enjoy the drive. I remember a time when I drove slower than the speed limit most everywhere I went. Driving lets me think, focuses my thoughts. Now I'm even more focused.
"You are going to have a very comfortable retirement."
Well that's definitely good to know. This fortune is more of a prediction, but, like all good predictions, it references a time when the fortune will have been forgotten completely, but creates a positive effect for the short term.
If one were so inclined, they could make a metaphor between driving and my life within the last two months. If so, they might say that I was stuck in a lane of traffic moving around 65, when I became frustrated, pulled over to the shoulder, then hit the accelerator to catch up to a line of fast-moving traffic.
"You like sunshine and fresh air."
This fortune, amazingly, is a bold-faced lie.
The people responsible for the fortunes in cookies are no doubt trained to write something vague and all encompassing to maintain an image of truth. This one would have worked had it been received by a normal person, but it met its match when it got into the hands of a computer geek. Fresh air makes me sneeze and my eyes are overly sensitive to UV light.
I toss the fortunes into the trash bag as a car passes me at about 5 mph. Looks like we got our 90-Train.