ERNIE AND ERNESTINA: Searching

Book Two, Chapter 121: Scavenger Hunt

Wandering through my neighborhood’s annual arts fair, I hear a high little voice behind me. “Excuse me. Excuse me.”

I turn. The voice belongs to a little girl, maybe ten years old, who’s with two other little girls, one of whom leans on crutches, her left leg in a multi-colored cast.

“We’re on a scavenger hunt,” the high-voiced one says. “Will you please sign your name for us?” She holds up pen and paper.

“Sure.”

On the piece of paper are listed seven items, six of which are crossed out. The last item is: the signature of a random person. I sign my name, and they thank me and hurry off, the one on crutches keeping up with her two friends.

Perhaps life is a scavenger hunt. If we’re lucky — and resourceful and persevering — we find what we’re looking for.

It’s good to know what we want, and for that to be good for us.