on aging

i've had to wear glasses since i was a kid. i'm myopic, which means i can't see shit at a distance. that's changed. over the weekend i bought this cool book and was trying to read some small print on one of the reprinted last turn-of-the-century holiday cards. albeit the print was very small i couldn't make it out. i took off my glasses, no help. i held it at arms length, which helped a little, but still couldn't read the letters. anna saw what i was doing and said, 'here; let me help you'. she picked up the book and said, 'copyright 1901'.

it gets worse. there are lofts being built all over the city. fancy, over-priced places where the fairly well-to-do like to hang their hats. a couple of weeks ago we were driving past one such group of lofts. 1 had a sign hanging from its balcony. i told anna, 'they need to get a bigger sign on that if they want people to read it'.

anna asked, 'you can't read that? it says "for rent"'.

now i can't see even read the computer screen or a book that is 12 inches from my face.

the advantage i have over people who have perfect sight is that i can choose to see the world 2 different ways. with my glasses everything is legible and relatively clear, everything all sharp angles and harsh colors. without them the world is soft, diffuse, broken into waves. if i wanna pretend i'm alone walking home from work, or sitting on the train, i can take off my glasses and not see anything clearly, thereby seeing nothing but the world in types of grey. if yr sitting across from some troglodyte on the train, taking off yr glasses is a distinct advantage over people who see clearly without the aid of a prescription.

but now, shit, i can't see this screen without my glasses. no advantage in that. besides, the perfect-sighted don't have to worry about having a 2-year-old ripping yr glasses from yr face as he laughs maniacally in wonderful boisterous jubilance. as you stumble about like the cyclops poked in the eye by a group of sailors led by a man called 'nobody'.