I Feel Good

In the spring of 1958 the US was launching its first earth satellites, Castro was just starting his revolution in Cuba, and Prince Rogers Nelson was being born in Minneapolis. Elvis had just been drafted, a Coke cost 5 cents, and the Wham-O Company was doing quite well with the Hula Hoop. Their Frisbee and Hacky Sack were still several years away.

And as my family sat down for dinner one spring evening my mother took off her glasses. Trying to be funny I put them on. To my surprise I could see better with them than without them. A few days after my announcement to all assembled Dr. John Van Hoy, our local optometrist, put glasses on me for the first time. There, in one form or another, they have remained, until yesterday.

LASIK is the acronym for Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, a type of refractive laser eye surgery performed by ophthalmologists for correcting eye defects, including myopia and astigmatism. I suffered from both, until yesterday.

Thanks to an off-hand comment three weeks ago by the side of our local pool, the friendly folks at Laser Eye Center of Carolina in Cary, and some VERY sophisticated computer driven equipment I put aside my glasses (prescribed last year by the same Dr. Van Hoy!) for the first time in 49 years, yesterday.

I will still need glasses to read and sunglasses to look cool. But I am already at 20-20 uncorrected with improvement very likely. I feel better than James Brown.

Now maybe I need a tattoo.

P.S. Daughter Malindi spanked me pretty good recently for not updating my blog. How did I do? :)