SubTalk

When you ride the subway, there's a wealth of information available to you in the form of posters and advertisements. Since there's not a whole lot to do on the subway, and it's rude to stare at people, you find yourself looking at all the ads and posters. There's almost always a poster for some school, some lawyers promising you lots of money, or some doctor promising you results. The MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) has decided to use some of the advertising space for its SubTalk. Some of these tout the goodness of the MTA, let you know about special fare offers, and that "If you see something, say something." And then there are those select few that have quotes from books and poems. This is one that I've seen quite frequently and wanted to share.

America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else when discovered it was not wanted, and most of the exploration for the next 50 years was done in the hope of getting thru or around it. America was named after a man who discovered no part of the New World. History is like that, very chancy.
--Samuel Eliot Morison

When I read this it made me reflect that life in general is also quite chancy. How often are we looking for something entirely different than what we ultimately end up finding? I love the idiosyncrasies of life and that someone else could put it down in words, and compare it to finding America. Sometimes we just gotta take what we find even if it seems like it's not worth it, because who knows what treasures it could end up holding.