New Glasses
I recently purchased a new pair of glasses, and I’m going to assume, incorrectly or otherwise, that somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of you at a bare minimum have done this at some point in your journey on the road of life. It was quite an experience. I was going to say “eye-opening,” but I think anyone would agree that my decision not to do so was the correct one.
What I’m about to describe will not sound unfamiliar to a lot of you reading this. Pardon that double negative. I like to use those every now and then. It keeps you on your toes because you have to stop and figure out what I mean. Anyhow, before I get too far afield, the whole thing began for me in much the same way that it does for everyone else. It’s the same story. One day you’ll notice that you can’t read small print, or you can’t see street signs as well as you once could, or maybe you were in a doctor’s office and a nurse told you that because you can’t read anything much past the halfway point on the eye chart, you need to invest in a pair of glasses. Darn. Time to find an optometrist, and that’s what I did.
When I first entered the optical store, I was met with row after row of mirrored shelves containing what looked like hundreds of eyeglasses frames. They were separate sections for women, men, children, and some general miscellaneous frames. As I looked around, I also noticed a number of large, blown up photographs of beautiful, photogenic people of all ages wearing the latest styles in cool, hip eyewear. I was immediately struck by how pleased they looked with themselves. Gazing upon these pictures, I quickly became convinced that as soon as I got my new glasses, I would look every bit as good as they did.
As I stood staring, I was approached by a woman wearing her own pair of very fashionable eyeglasses, and she looked good. She ushered me over to a small table with a large, round mirror on it, and we began the selection process. After trying on approximately 75 different frames, I settled on one that I thought might give me that cool vibe I was seeking. The fact that a new pair of glasses would help me see better had gotten completely lost in the process. It was all about the “look.”
The new glasses never did meet my overblown expectations, and the price tag was equivalent to that of a new Maserati, but whatever. They do help me see a little better, and I don’t have to wear them all the time, so no big deal. There’s only one task remaining. Because they are one of my more expensive possessions, I’m going to have to get them insured.