That Was Then...

I'm a bit of a pack rat and this past weekend I stumbled upon one of the many newspapers I save. It was fairly recent -- just two weeks old -- but it's amazing all that's happened since.

There was a story on how the Senate Finance Committee was likely to include none of the president's dividend-tax cuts. It ended up including virtually all of them.

Another piece was on how Al Qaeda had been humbled and was unable to launch attacks. But that was before Riyadh and Morocco and more than 50 killed in Al Qaeda attacks.

Still another story talked about the unusual quiet breaking out in the Middle East ahead of Colin Powell's reported trip to the region. Two weeks later, a half dozen attacks would claim dozens of lives.

In corporate news, AOL's Steve Case was reported virtually certain not to get reappointed to AOL's board. The report was wrong and Case was reappointed.

SARS was scaring everyone. It still is.

The Yankees were on top of the baseball world with no one in sight. They're still on top, but the Boston Red Sox are not only within sight, they're tied.

A columnist talked of bonds getting pricey, no way interest rates could go lower. Two weeks later, they're pricier still and rates are nearly a quarter percent lower.

UAL was reported to be on life support. Two weeks later it was hiring back workers.

People on the ropes then, coming back now. People very much alive then, very much dead now.

Leave it to an old newspaper telling us where we were, to screw up so mightily where we are.

It makes me wonder what I'll be reading two weeks from now. Or two days from now. Or maybe seeing only two hours from now.

Lesson learned: The things we think are sure things often are not. The things we think are unlikely things often are.

My father used to say a good day is reading the obituaries and seeing you're not among the names listed. He last said that about a month before he was among those names listed.

Things change. I just wish they wouldn't change so quickly.

Watch Neil Cavuto's Common Sense weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on Your World with Cavuto.