In my wallet - well, my old wallet, which I still have, but don't carry around anymore, because it's red and blue nylon, and the size of a small cat. I keep all my "secondary cards" in it; the rewards cards for various airlines, hotel chains, stores, my old student IDs, a Red Cross donor card from back when I was allowed to donate blood... oops, I've gotten away from the story.
Anyway, for the last sixteen years, one of the picture holders in said wallet has had a fortune I got from a Chinese restaurant in Otsego, Michigan (it also has a newspaper clipping from the first time I made the local track & field "honor roll." But I digress again). The fortune says "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or nation." I thought it was clever, and I've often used it as inspiration over the years.
Two weeks ago, I was enjoying $4 pizza night at a local watering hole. Said watering hole has one of those electronic message boards, which they use to occasionally announce drink specials or upcoming bands, but mostly to display pithy comments and Michael Jackson jokes. Suddenly, I saw my fortune flash across the screen! I immediately called my friends' attention to the board, and told them the story of my fortune, in much the same rambling fashion that I'm telling it now. They were unimpressed, but thought it was a neat quote all the same.
Last weekend, I was having dinner at the gf's place, and she brought out fortune cookies for dessert. This was odd, because she hadn't been to a Chinese restaurant; someone had just given her fortune cookies. Anyway, I break open my cookie, and what do you suppose my fortune was? "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or nation." So I showed her the fortune, and told her the story. She said, "I think it's great you've held on to that fortune so long. But don't you know where that quote comes from?"
I do now. But I'll still carry that fortune in my wallet.
So, readers, what are you discontented about? Oh, and happy Flag Day!
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2 comments:
The inspirational quote that I've used a number of times is from Winston Churchill: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
On my second date with my husband, he got a fortune that said "you and your mate will be happy in your life together." Unbeknownst to me he saved it, and gave it to me with my ring two years later when he proposed.
That's my fortune cookie story.
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