Sitting at a roadside diner in Ely, Nevada
I was talking with the short order cook
Who was tossing eggs and hashbrowns on the grill
As smoke drifted up from the cigarette dangling casually from his lips
He told me he knew an inventor in town who had found a way
Of calculating every possible future using a super computer he had built in his garage
The implications were immense; the applications infinite
He called his invention The Future Eye
With increasing enthusiasm, the cook flipped a pancake and said to me
"You should stay a while, meet the inventor, and help us create the future."
"In fact, to make your stay possible, I'll give you a job here in the restaurant because
You will never get another opportunity like this as long as you live."
Needless to say, I did not take the job at the restaurant
Nor did I have a chance to meet the inventor
I chose instead to continue my journey westward
Although this incident happened decades ago
I often think of this encounter and make note of the future that was created