fortune cookie

Ya gotta love fortune cookies. They say the damnedest things at the damnedest times, much like a three-year-old child. "A nice cake is waiting for you" is a prime example.
You think the message is garbled until subsequent events seem to prove the cookie right. I say "seem to" because the end can usually be made to fit the means, if you're a mind to do so.
Even so, sometimes I choose to lend credence to the words. For some times, I need to believe in a bit of positive in my corner. Some times are a bit rougher than others and warrant clutching at wisps of "yes" wherever they appear. This time of year can be especially cold and chill you to the bone, if you're not careful.
Most of the time, when I dine at my favorite source of massive quantities of fresh vegetables, cooked to order, I don't bother with a fortune cookie. Not that they are unavailable or hard to obtain. Oh, no. There's a jar full of them on the check-out counter, luring eyes and fingers. No, my reason for not grabbing one is this: I prefer to receive my fortunes as a random gift. If the waiter doesn't bring one with the bill, then I abstain.
My waitress this evening, a waitress I have had before, surprised me with the gift of a fortune cookie. I thanked her and decided to wait until I was home to break it open, as I was unusually full from dinner. Also, I felt the need to BE home, as I had been out all afternoon and most of the evening. So, I arrive home (the dash light working this time, so I could see my speedometer), enter my warm, lit house, and get settled in. The cookie had already crumbled in my pocket by the time I pulled it out, but the fortune was still nestled in the folds, avoiding my view. I open the wrapper, remove half the cookie and eat it as I am freeing the message.
"You will have many friends when you need them."
Nice! But how did the cookie know I had been wondering about such things?
Last night was one of those rare occasions when I felt that life was GOOD. I had gone downtown to hear Magic Rocks making rock music, as I had been invited to the gig. Ordinarily, I would have seen the 22:30 start time and opted out. This time was different, as if I were truly meant to be there. The weather had warmed such that I didn't really need a jacket, though I took one anyway. The traffic downtown was almost nonexistent; I effortlessly found parking close to where I thought I was going.
I ended up having a nice stroll whilst looking for the venue and arrived right after a large party had left, vacating several tables right in front of the band. Incredible. I had no sooner sat down than I was joined by a new friend, with word that others were on their way from a birthday celebration. Fabulous! And there we were with plenty of room for all! And the band was playing some of my favorite songs... and the waitress helped enact my request for a dance floor... and the others had arrived and we were all grooving to the music... And I realized how GOOD it felt to be surrounded by friends, beside me, behind me, in front of me, listening to great music and watching a ship pass by in the windows behind the band as they rocked out.
I spend a lot of time alone. That isn't unusual for me and, quite truly, that's the way it has been for much of my life. "Alone" doesn't mean "lonely". I have found that "lonely" can, and does, occur when others are present. But last night, I had gone out alone, but not lonely, and had been in the right place for friends to find me and join me.
I think I need to keep doing that.