Glasses Have Feelings, Too

 

 

Here's an interesting little saga that is impacting me. Over the past 15 years or so, I've been existing in the wild world of eye care with little or no insurance. Back when I had 100% coverage for eye care, I went to an ophthalmologist. She was awesome, but her fees made my continued use financially problematic. So I wandered from place-to-place seeking budget eye care from Walmart, national chains, and even modern conglomerate optical practices. These places were built for the mass-produced customers, and I never felt like I was getting real service.

I decided to bite the bullet and set up an appointment with my old (I'm older than her) ophthalmologist. I figured that I would treat myself to great care and pay the price. After the visit, I felt deep satisfaction. My prescription changed a bit, and I would need new glasses.

Frankly, I'm tired of crappy glasses. I've had glasses since I was in 7th grade when my near-sightedness erased the stars at night. I went to progressive lenses (no-line bifocals) when I hit 45 or so. Since I was buying from chain stores, my glasses were always less than sturdy. So I decided to go a real, local optical shop. SWSNBNOFB had gotten glasses last summer and found a great place. I had learned that the owner was fantastic, but expensive. But I didn't care. I wanted a great pair of sturdy glasses.

Due to the virus, I put off going there until last Saturday. It turns out that he was still open with limited hours. I quickly settled on my modest Flexon frames and chose the best lenses. The optician said that my order should be ready by the end of this week. I left feeling uplifted and full of anticipation.

Sunday evening, I went to clean my old glasses, and I felt something give way in the frame. I babied them through an episode of Star Trek Next Generation and decided to try to glue them back in the morning. My father was the epoxy and glue guru. During his time in the materials lab at the Salem GE, he was always experimenting on some new adhesive concoction. He could glue anything. I did not inherit his adhesive gift. I tried and failed to make the repair.

 

 

So I figured that I'd just use one of my old pairs of progressive lens glasses, but then I remembered that I gave them all away to the local Lion's Club. However, deep in a junk drawer, I stumbled across a pair of the ugliest glasses ever, Charles Nelson Reilly specials. SWSNBNOFB recalls that I got these back in the early 2000's as a cheap throw-away pair to use while playing basketball. As it turns out, these glasses still sort of work for distance vision, but I can't see a lick up close while wearing them or not wearing them.

So, I'm mostly blind for the rest of the week, which is somewhat frustrating and headache-inducing. I'm typing using keyboard memory and general letter recognition. This is not a real problem. It's just another inconvenience.

I find it strange that my real glasses decided to break a day after they learned that they were going to be replaced. I guess glasses have feelings, too.