confucius

in an uncharacteristic move, we did not get vietnamese take-out; we actually went to mai's, sat down and ate a meal on plates instead of out of their styrofoam containers. the boys drank pot after pot of jasmine tea, ate rocket shrimp and clay pot tofu and were perfect gentlemen the entire evening. must be the calming effects of the ginger in the sauce.

anyway, after the bill was paid, we all broke into our fortune cookies. i really don't think these are authentic vietnamese treats, but nobody at the table was arguing with free cookies. mason snaps his in two and begins to read what he apparently believes will actually have some bearing on his future.

you will do better in real estate than in stocks.

he looked at me a little disappointed and said in his trademark monotone delivery, "well, it's not what i was hoping for."

we'll have to go over the concept of free will again, evidently.