Books and Eyes

I See, Said The Blind Man

Last year, things were starting to look better, pun intended. A new pair of glasses had given me my best vision yet. Then…at home one night I started seeing flashes in my left eye. Strange, almost psychedelic effects that left me shook. Turns out, I had a torn retina in the left eye.

The specialist who saw me lasered my eye to oblivion and back. He then said he was positive the retina was repaired and not detached. After a few weeks of healing, a new malady appeared. I now have a persistent blurry spot on the left eye with spider webs and piss ants moving about. Such fun and the adventure continues.

Despite the difficulty, I have been able to read books – not long, lazy afternoon sessions, but moments here and there. A reunion of the books and eyes.

The first book I picked up took a while to get through, though just turning the pages was a thrill. The book was about Bob Dylan, written by his childhood friend, Louie Kemp. The stories within were fantastic and inspirational. The book honored the bond of friendship between the two. When I was finished the book, I did the right thing and lent it to a friend.

The Eyes Have It

Now, this far into it and what I really wanted to tell my readers about, was, well, reading a book. See, I don’t put my name on books, inside the cover, on the back or anywhere. Words aren’t a commodity, words are free, reading is free. Books are meant to be shared.

So, until I can get these eyes clinically working together again, I’ll just have to will them better. I’ll read books, attempt more writing, and just plain use the eyes like they were meant to be used. Maybe even take a picture. When I can’t see straight, I close my book, readjust the eyes by closing them, and listening to some music. I’ve heard it soothes the savage beast, but I don’t know. All I understand is that closing the eyes takes the nightmare away for a little while.

Yes, readers, I’m now into my fifth year of, well, visionary madness, if you will. Couple of good twists happened with the turns. Along with my opthamologist, I’ve found an excellent optometrist who is quite astute in his line of work. He’s agreed to take me on as a challenge and work with my eye doctor. We’re getting closer to finding the right prescription, so that’s all good. Now, just have to keep the retinas attached and take my vitamins.