The Wolf who Forgot Wall Street

Craig raced outside to try to catch his bus. Just as he was about to catch up to bus, the driver closed the door and drove off.  When Craig finally made it to school, he was late for his SAT, the test he felt determined the rest of his life. His giant walrus teacher, Mr. Tusk said, “ Son, you’re late for your test.  You’re life is ruined!” “No!” cried Craig. Mr. Tusk continued, “And you’re not wearing pants!”  Craig again cried, “No!”  Just as Craig realized that it was pretty cool that the school board would take a chance on a walrus, he awoke to the sound of the real bus pulling onto his street. He had overslept for real on the real biggest day of his life! He was up in a flash; he couldn’t believe how fast he was able to get ready. On his way out the door Craig felt like he was forgetting something. “Pants,” Craig muttered to himself. He stumbled down the stairs with one and a half legs of his pants secured, and as he burst through the door, he was just in time to see the bus rolling away. As Craig raced to class he hoped it would be a sharply dressed walrus standing there. He would even settle for a fur seal, but there was no such luck. This was the real test. After the test was over, Craig’s friend Nat caught up with him. “What happened to you this morning, dude? You came in late with your pants on inside out,” said Nat. Craig responded, “I don’t want to talk about it. I had kind of rough morning; the weird thing was I kind of saw it coming.” Nat said, “What do you mean?” Craig replied, “I had a dream of basically exactly what my morning was like. It was like my body knew today was gonna suck and tried to keep me trapped in bed all day. I had three alarms set for this time!” “How did you still sleep through that?” Asked Nat. “Well,” repsonded Craig, “I forgot to set two, and I had the volume down on the third one.” “You’re lucky their giving another SAT in the summer for the two kids who had mumps because their parents don‘t believe in vaccination,” said Nat. Craig replied, “Yeah I think I’m just gonna sleep in the school gym that night. But none of that matters because today’s the day I’m finally gonna get Carol Lee to go out with me.” “You didn’t waste any time on that one. I mean it’s only the last three weeks of high school,” said Nat. “Shut up,” Craig said, “here she comes. Hey, Carol Lee. Um I was wondering if you were free this weekend, maybe we could hang out and do something?” Carol Lee looked Craig up and down for a minute and said, “Okay, look.  A) No. B) If you were half the loser you are, no. C) If you were the last guy on earth, still no. Please never talk to me again.” And just like that, Carol Lee walked away. Craig had never foreseen his encounter going this way. Maybe that’s why he also didn’t think that the outdoor common area where all the students gathered wasn’t the best place to ask Carol Lee out. All of the students nearby began jeering at Craig and laughing, and as he walked back into the school he could hear whispers and giggles all around him. “That was rough. How could you not see that coming?” said Nat. Craig didn’t say anything. Later that day Nat dropped by Craig’s house to check on him. Craig’s mom opened the door and told Nat that Craig was upstairs in his room. Nat headed upstairs and opened Craig’s door. “Geez man what are you thinking just bursting in on me!” Said Craig. Nat replied, “Look man whatever you might have been doing up here would be better than what you’re doing right now. I’m not going to let you mope around all night; you’re coming with the rest of us to the summer kick-off fair tonight.” Craig said, “Why would I even think about showing my face around anyone this summer?” “Because if you don’t I’m gonna tell your mom where you hide your weed,” Nat said. Craig snapped back, “I don’t have any weed.” Nat replied, “You do now. I dropped it off on my way in.” Craig sat up in his bed and said, “Why are you doing this to me?” Nat said, “Because I’m your boy now get up.” Craig smiled and got up. That night at the fair, Craig chose the funnel cake vendor that ran out of funnel cake right as he was next in line, waited an hour for a ride that broke down as he was about to get on and dropped his wallet in the toilet. Later Craig wandered off by himself and stumbled upon an old, creepy looking carnival game. The only writing on it said “make a wish.” Craig looked, but there was no slot to insert money. All of a sudden the wooden puppet inside the glass came to liGe and said, “Make a wish.” Craig said, “I wish I could see the future. The puppet said, “Done.” Craig tried his best to see what his future held, but he could not. In fact an old gypsy woman surprised a scream out of him when she walked up behind Craig and said in her gravelly old voice, “What are you doing?” Craig regained his composure and said, “Oh, nothing I was just trying out this old game here.” “What that?” She continued, “That’s just something we use to prop up the popcorn machine. May I ask why you were all the way over here by yourself mumbling to our popcorn stand?” Craig responded, “I just had a pretty crappy day, and I was just thinking how great it would be to be able to see the future. Then maybe I wouldn’t have to deal with everything I’ve been through today ever again.” The gypsy woman prodded him on saying, “Then what fun would be left to be had? No surprises, no risks. Are you really sure you want what you’re asking for?” Craig smuggly replied, “Lady if you knew what my day was like, you’d know that I’m 100% sure I want to be able to see the future.” To that that gypsy lady just said, “Done.” As she walked away she added, “Oh, do be careful, Dear. Often those whose sole focus is on what lies ahead will begin to lose sight of what surrounds them now.” With that, she was gone. Craig didn’t know what to think of what had just happened, but what he did know was that he needed to go home and dry out his wallet.  When Craig woke up the next day he felt like he could barely remember how terrible the last day had been. He got out of bed and went to take a shower. While the water was running, he remembered, or at least he thought he remembered reaching down to pick up the shampoo bottle he knocked over, as he shower pretended to be telling off Carol Lee, and slipped and fell out of the shower, ripping the shower curtain down and causing his mom to burst in on him. The only problem is that none of that had happened yet; Craig was still running the water for his shower. Sure enough as he showered, Craig hit Carol Lee with that perfect imaginary argument one liner and knocked over his bottle of shampoo. He stared down at it; he went to pick it up and slipped and fell through the shower curtain. Just then Craig’s mom burst in. “Oh geez Craig cover yourself up!” Shrieked Craig’s mom as she exited. Craig couldn’t believe what had just happened. Could he really have just remembered something from the future. No, he thought to himself; it was just deja vous. Just then Craig remembered for real that he was late again for his make up SAT test, and he hurriedly ran out the door. Craig sat in front of his test packet, As he peeled the tab to open the booklet that would determine the rest of his life, he tried not to think about how this would determine the rest of his life. While staring at the empty bubbles, Craig had a vision. It was like he was remembering when he was able to see the correct answers for the test he was taking today. “I haven’t seen any answer key, obviously this is crazy...I’m a crazy person,” Craig thought to himself, but after the shower incident Craig thought this was probably his best shot at acing his SAT. Craig’s suspicions were confirmed when he got his test results back three weeks later, a perfect score; there was also an answer sheet with the results like from his vision only this time it wasn’t riddled with red bubbles indicating missed answers. This time it was all green. Craig was astonished; he just realized that he had changed his future. “Forget college,” Craig thought, “I can do whatever I want.”  Craig immediately grabbed the finance section of his dad’s paper and started to circle different stocks. One month later two of Craig’s stocks split; Craig was a millionaire. He took Nat to a steakhouse to celebrate, and while the two ate, Carol Lee, who waitressed there, came over to speak to Craig. “Hey Craig. I heard you got a perfect score on your SAT, and you’re some kind of stock market guru now.  How do you do it?“ Craig replied, “You just have to have a keen sense of the future I guess.” Nat chimed in, “Yeah I mean you sold your car and invested in a Brazilian clothing company no one’s ever heard of and now everybody’s got a pair of their jeans on. How’d you know?” “Listen,” Craig began, “I can’t tell how you how I do it; I just look over all my options and listen to whatever reveals itself to me.” Carol Lee responded, “Well if you still want to get together sometime, me and some of the other waitresses are going out to the ridge this weekend. It’s not quite prom, but it’s gonna be fun.” Craig said, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it this weekend; I have a meeting in New York about starting my own firm.” Carol Lee responded disheartened by saying, “Oh well that’s too bad, but I understand.” “What are you doing, dude?! That was your chance,” Nat yell whispered at Craig. Craig replied, “Trust me. I’ll have another chance. Next Tuesday at Dairy Queen at 7:30.” Nat said, “What?” “Nothing,” Craig stammered. Craig finally had life by the horns; he felt invincible, except for one thing. It seemed that the more he looked into the future, the hazier his past became, but Craig’s life up to this point was anything but memorable, and things were just starting to get good. So Craig kept reading his future. Craig started his own financial planning firm that took the business world by storm. Business was so good, he was tried for insider trading, but Craig was already prepared with a defense that countered every accusation against him. He married Carol Lee, and Nat worked as the CFO of Craig’s firm after Nat graduated from college. Life was perfect for Craig, but his memory of the past kept fading. Each time Craig reached into his future to grab the next big money maker, a little of his past was wiped from his mind. At first it was just mild episodes where Craig would forget his client’s names which he would blame on having so many clients these days or forgetting Carol Lee’s birthday which he said was an unfortunate side effect of running such a large firm. But Craig knew that he was having trouble keeping everything together. Lately he couldn’t remember where his office was, who his personal chef was or what his mother looked like. Things were at their breaking point with Carol Lee because Craig couldn’t recognize her or their son most days. It would take her an hour to convince him to let her use their bathroom. Carol Lee and Nat confronted Craig about his memory loss. “We need to talk,” Nat began. “We think you might need to get some serious help for your memory, Craig.” “We?” Craig responded. Carol Lee said, “Yes we. It’s me; your wife, Carol Lee.” “I know who you both are,” Craig said coldly. Carol Lee continued, “Honey the fish oil and neutroopics aren’t working. You need to see a doctor. You could cave Alzheimer’s.” “I don’t have Alzheimer’s,” Craig returned. Nat interjected, “She’s right, Craig.” All of sudden Craig cut Nat off in a fury while he slammed his hand against his desk, “You want to know who’s right?!” “Don’t do this, Craig,” said Nat. “No!” Interrupted Craig. “You want to know the secret to all this success? It’s not you throwing charity balls, Carol Lee; it’s not that you’re such a financial wizard, Nat. The reason we have all of this is because of me! I can see the future!” “He’s lost his mind. How big is your ego Craig?!” said Carol Lee “It’s not my ego!” Craig fired back. “How do you think I knew to put fifty percent of our company’s holding into that fidget spinning thing then sell at it’s height of popularity four weeks later before it disappeared off the face of the earth?  Explain that? I’m not an artist or a master or an anything I didn’t even really get a perfect score on the SAT’s.  The only reason we’re standing here is because I can see the future like a memory, but every time I do I lose some of my past memories.” Carol Lee replied softly, “So you’re telling me that I sat alone at a restaurant or an opera or in a vacation home each birthday and anniversary for the last three years because you couldn’t stop making money? If this is really true, you’re a cold bastard, Craig. You’re not the boy I knew in high school.” Craig replied harshly, “Of course I’m not! You had no interest in the boy you knew in high school. You only noticed me once I started making money. I did all this for us. To keep our company afloat so you can sit alone in five star restaurants and million dollar vacation homes.” “No. You did this because you’re addicted to money and the notoriety. Don’t you dare pretend that you did this because you care about me. If you loved me, you would have been there for me all these years. I thought you were just busy running the company, so I forgave you, but now you’re telling me that you chose to forget me all this time? If you don’t stop this...this future memory I can tell you that you won’t need to remember me at all because I’ll be gone,” said Carol Lee. Nat added, “Craig we sold...I sold stock market investment guides; we put countless actual brokers out of business. I helped you claw your way to the top, and now you’re telling me that those guides were bogus? The people we fired when we chopped up firms for assets never even had a competitive chance? You and I are done professionally, and unless you stop this now, you and I are done personally.” Craig said quietly, “You dare come to me with your morals and your winey complaints. I gave you the world. You should be thanking me. I want both of you out of my office now. I won’t even remember you were ever here.” With that Carol Lee and Nat exited Craig’s office and Craig’s life. Craig continued to dominate Wall Street, and as he predicted, he couldn’t remember Nat or Carol Lee. Occasionally he would look at pictures in his penthouse and try to imagine who in his life could they have been. Craig’s life was lonely. Outside of board meeting and the cleaning lady, Craig had no real company. More and more he would stare at the pictures in his home trying desperately to remember who they were, but he could not. One night as he ate at one of his favorite restaurants, a hideous woman who was dressed beautifully walked by him, and Craig did something he had not done in quite some time. He recognized her. It was the gypsy woman who had cursed him with his clairvoyance. He approached her and asked, “How could you do this to me? You knew what would happen, and you cursed me anyway.” The gypsy woman replied, “If you do recall, which I know you can’t, I told you to be careful and to not look to hard into the future or you may lose sight of your past.” Craig retorted, “How was I supposed to know you meant I would lose my memory?” “Let me ask you this,” the gypsy said, “did you stop when you realized what was happening? No. You made your bed; you lie in it, if you can even remember where it is.” The gypsy woman chuckled and had some men in the restaurant take Craig away. Craig was beside himself; he had everything and lost it all. All he had was nothing without someone to share it with. But then he realized, he had recognized the gypsy. If he could recall her, maybe he could remember whoever it was in his photos. For months Craig spent his spare time going through old photos, old letters, emails, everything he could get his hands on. The months turned to years, Craig had nearly memorized every shred of evidence that he ever even had family and friends. Finally, one gray, drizzly morning Carol Lee opened up the door to her apartment and saw a gray, bearded Craig standing outside. Craig said, “Look I know I might be the last person you want to see, but I have to tell you something. The last four years I’ve done nothing, but try to remember who you are. Even though I didn’t know who you were, I thought about you everyday. One day I was staring at a letter you sent me after our separation, and I finally knew who had sent it. I used the address you gave in the letter to come find you. I sold the company and formed the Carol Lee Foundation that Nat is currently running. We build children’s hospitals. I want you back Carol Lee. I’m sorry.” Without speaking a word, Carol Lee walked over to Craig and wrapped him in her arms. Then she said, “I knew you would find me.” Craig asked, “How could you be sure?” Carol Lee said, “Whenever I look into my future, I always see you there.”