Jul 28, 2019
RAY: Several months ago, I was at Logan Airport here in Boston. I go to smell the jet fuel, I don't really fly anyplace. And while I was there, I happened to see in the crowd an old college chum, and I can't remember his name. And as I'm struggling to find his name, he disappears into the crowd.
Gee, I thought, I would like to get re-acquainted with him. I mean, after all, he was my roommate for three years, and I'm sure he'd be interested in getting back the 200 bucks I owe him. But all I can remember is that he lived in the Midwest someplace. So, I run to one of the monitors hanging from the ceiling, and I see there are, like, 11 flights going to various destinations in the Midwest, you know, like…
St. Louis... Muncie, Indiana; Racine, Wisconsin; et cetera, et cetera. Because I can't remember his name--it's hopeless, I think. So, I have to think of a way to find him. And in a minute's time, I come up with a plan, and in two minutes, I find him!
So the question is, how did I do it?
RAY: Here’s how you solve it. I will confess: there were obfuscations here; the fact, the Midwest thing was an obfuscation. And when I say I find him--I didn't find him. He found me.
Because I went to the customer service desk, the white phone, and I paged myself.
And he says, "That knucklehead... I'm going to go collect that 200 bucks that sleazeball hasn't paid me for 20 years!" And there he was.
