Fortune Cookies November 2, 2024

Got a couple of dumb fortunes from the local strip mall Chinese/Thai joint.

• “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
• “Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”

These are clearly not fortunes, they do not predict something for the cookie eater. They’re both in the advice category, but also shade over into the fake Asian metaphysics category.

They’re also dumb. “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist” - you could fist bump, couldn’t you? Thinking about it a little, the “clenched fist” as opposed to “shaking hands” has to hint at striking a blow versus striking a deal, or coming to a peaceable agreement. Does this saying mean to release or suppress your anger so as to be able to make a deal, or agree on a settlement? There’s certainly some situations where you can’t just cut a deal.

The second fortune is wordy and circuitous, and easy to misunderstand. It refers to “tomorrow” in the context of forgetting something in tomorrow’s past, which is today, and also some far future lasting a lifetime. Convoluted, 3 stars, would not understand again.