Them There Eyes

Being a kid was certainly a grand ole time. But every now and then something scary happened such as the first day of school, getting on the school bus with all of the older kids, and those weird tests they did for vision, hearing and scoliosis. I don’t remember too much about them but apparently I had bad vision from a very early beginning.

My mom tells me that when I first stepped out of the doctor’s office with my new glasses on, I looked around in absolute amazement. I exclaimed “The trees look just like a picture!” How sad to think that until that moment I wandered around looking at a blurry world.

I’ve gone through a variety of terrible eyeglasses over the last twenty something years. I grew up in the eighties after all. I’d show some photos but am far too vain for that.

My last pair, awesome olive green frames from Japan, finally met their maker three nights ago. I bought them some ten years ago in Austin, Texas, at an optical store along the main drag by the University of Texas. Maybe it’s still there. Eclectic Eyewear. Look it up.

I loved these glasses, just not the way they looked on me (coke bottles come to mind). Despite being dropped hundreds of times over the years they held together, a miracle really. But now they are held together by tape and have thus promoted me to true nerd status.

My Mom bought me this doll when I was younger to prove that you can be cute with glasses.

Last week at one of my numerous part time jobs I brought up the idea of living in the wild and wondering just how many other mammals out there had vision problems. I feel sorry for any bear or deer as blind as me, especially without having access to corrective lenses.

On Friday I just so happened to be cataloguing an old Ladie's Home Journal magazine from September 1928. Inside I found an article “The Near-Sighted Cat”. It was written by John V. A. Weaver and Peggy Wood with illustrations by Paul Bransom.

Just take a look at this picture! His name is Rupert. If only I looked so cute in my specs.