I guess I should start by giving you some background on me.

My undergraduate major is in biology.

My first job was as a research technician for the chairman of one of the most prestigious hospital dermatology departments in the country, and my graduate degree is in social work, focusing on clinical psychotherapy.

I tell you all of this to let you know that I am well steeped in the scientific method. Things pretty much have to be proven before I accept them.

That said, I have to tell you unequivocally that I fully believe in the power of fortune cookies.

Let me explain.

My moment of epiphany happened when I was 21.

I had a part-time job as a stock clerk with the Purchasing Department of our local city government while I was attending undergrad.

It was my last day on the job before going to work at NYU, and the office staff decided to order Chinese food for lunch.

After lunch, I picked a fortune cookie and opened it.

Three days before going to work in medical research, the fortune read, “You will find much success in the field of medical research.”

After the initial wave of disbelief waned, a deeper sense of trying to figure out how my co-workers had perpetrated such an elaborate and inventive hoax took over.

Some salient points to consider:

1.  I myself chose the cookie out of the six that were included with our lunches.

2.  I immediately demanded to see everyone else’s cookies, all of which contained different fortunes, and

3. The fortune was very specific, not a generality that people sometimes make fit into their life experiences.

Granted that the term, “Much success” is relative, but, considering that I eventually was listed as a co-author on a research paper published in one of the field’s highest regarded journals,  I guess you could say that the fortune was fairly on target.

More than three decades later, after countless hours (of course, for me, that phrase typically means anything over 10…), I have never been able to explain that uncanny fortune, thereby making me a true believer in fortune cookies.

If you can somehow explain it other than by the fortune cookie gods smiling down on me that day, please drop me a note. I am more than willing to entertain other explanations.

Now please excuse me.

I need to go get some Chinese food. I’m dying to know what’s going to happen to me next.