"The love of life is happiness, harmoniously."
The state of fortune cookies today is clearly in decline. I can picture the Chinese workers, hunched over computer desks, trying to predict the future for a few thousand obese Americans who happen to stop by the all you can eat buffet. And strangely enough, fortune cookies never predict dire events to come. They merely offer bland statements in poor grammar about love, life, happiness, or in this case, all of the above. So now I am left to ponder what this could possibly entail for the weeks to come. Will loving life make me happy? Or perhaps my lover will be happy. It could be my lover will make me happy. Who knows? But most likely, someone with English as a second language working ten hours a day at minimum wage ran out of coffee and is seeking love, happiness, and harmonious interactions with another obese American boss. But instead of condemning the contented buffet goers, the fortune-cookie-writer grants his ideal fate to them by means of a tiny slip of paper stuffed in a crunchy cookie in a cheap plastic wrapper. In the end, the cookie crumbles will lie forgotten on the table (because who really eats the cookie part anyway). The fortune will be stuffed mercilessly into a pants pocket, then forgotten as it goes through the washing machine and disintegrates into faded paper dust. And the fortune-cookie-writer will return to his home, forgotten by the manager reaping the rewards of the naive buffet-goers. But the dreams of love and happiness will linger on. And every time we return to the Chinese restaurant, the magic of ripping open the wrapper and discovering some enigmatic Asian wisdom will rekindle. That forgotten cookie will unlock the secrets to our soul, the deepest desires of our hearts, and the ultimate quest for success in life. Because of course, those slips of magical fortune-telling paper are always directed at you.
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