Looking Back

I am good at looking for things. I do it every day and long ago received my Looking Badge when I hit the magic mark of 10,000 times. Unfortunately, I am bad at actually finding things. I cannot see keys, glasses, or phones even if they are dangling from ceiling bungee cords and blocking my view of the television set. If Eli Whitney showed me his Cotton Gin, I never would have seen the Industrial Revolution lurking behind it. When computers were a novelty, I could only see the novelty. Some day I may actually need to extract money from an ATM but it will probably be as the victim of some elder scam or with a gun stuck in my ribs. I have great difficulty looking into the future and can only hope that I am still in it. But I am such an expert at looking backwards that I am practically living in the past. I am generous sharing my “If only” skill to pinpoint the mistakes others have made. So far I have not been able to find any divorced people who are willing to pay me for telling them where they went wrong. In fact, no one even wants my free analysis. No wonder people are unhappy if they cannot see the value of wallowing in their misery under my guidance. At least my inability to see the future is more understandable. Everyone would be rich and happier if that skill were easier to come by. Yesterday was especially frustrating because I could not find my bungee cords. I guess it doesn’t matter that much because I cannot recall what I needed them for.