As Woody Allen said, the heart wants what it wants. So, why are you here?

I'm surprisingly good with fortune cookies.

Have I ever mentioned how good I am at getting excellent fortunes every time I eat Chinese food?

I know that's a strange talent to be proud of, but I'm stunningly lucky at them for someone so generally misbegotten. Most people get things like "life is a hard road, but those who persevere are stronger for it," or "think happier thoughts." I generally get things like "the people around you will come to see your ideas are superior," and "it will be hard for people to not fall in love with you."

Those are both real fortunes I've gotten.

I once bragged about this to a group of my friends, and they laughed and scoffed (I have great friends, you see). "No one's good at getting fortunes," they pointed out. "It's just all chance."

"I really am," I replied. "I know it sounds weird, but I'm lucky at it."

I had the poor judgment to be holding an unopened fortune cookie in my hands while I said this.

"Prove it," they said.

"I'm going to," I said, cracking open the fortune cookie with a bravado that, to this day, I have no idea where it came from. "I'm just very lucky this. I'll show you."

"No way. Nobody's lucky at this."

"I am. I'm just very lucky."

I pulled out the slip of paper and read my fortune aloud: "You are very lucky."

They stared at me open-mouthed. "There's no way that actually happened," one of them whispered.



I bring this story up because a few days ago, I cracked open a fortune cookie and read: "Your ability to find the silly in the serious will take you far." I don't know what that means, exactly, but I am so pumped for this.

In a related note, I'm starting the writing process for my musical adaptation of Hotel Rwanda this week.

Labels: fortune cookies, musicals about horrific events

posted by Ben Wyman @ 5:00 PM