I've been thinking about vision today. This picture interested me because of that. When my grandchildren were here we went twice to the Pickerel Lake beach at Camp Pet-O-Se-Ga (can you guess how Petsokey was named after this Ottowa leader?? Just before we left the beach, my grandchildren pointed out geese in the water near the far shore. So I zoomed some shots. Because of the light, and how near it was to getting dark, there is only that streak of light on the water that sets off the shapes of the geese so beautifully. It is almost like a black and white photo without being anything but an unmodified color photo straight from the camera. The detail on the far shore is almost gone, yet you can see that it is wooded. The greens are very subtly varied, though. and you can make out some branches and leafy shapes. You probably cannot see it at this size, but, on the bank below the bare branches, are two watercraft turned upside down in case of rain. The larger one is red. But you would not title this photo "The Red Boat" in a gallery. Because the picture is all about the geese! And the subtle color and the streak of light and the way the whole is arranged in bands.
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I have worn glasses since I was nine years old, and the teacher noticed me squinting to see the blackboard. And today I went for an extra check because I am right on the border of glaucoma, as I learned at my last checkup in Idaho, and should be checked every few months. I have been to Dr. O'Bryan twice before, and he is my eye-guy here in Michigan.
I had cataracts removed thirty years ago and now mostly wear hard contact lenses. But since I would have to take them out for an eye exam anyway, I went in my new pair of thick glasses, prescribed and purchased in May. The experience of visiting his office, Pleasant View Eye Care and Eyewear, was delightful and consumed several hours. Both Dr. O'Bryan and his assistant NEVER RUSH! They always have plenty of time. After I had been there a while, I found that I was totally relaxed and calm, too. If either of them need something from one of the back rooms down the hall, they stroll back and get it. If the phone rings, it is answered, and the person on the phone is given full answers as requested. I think they schedule for this pace, because there was never more than one other person waiting, even though I was there for almost three hours. Since I was often without my glasses, I had plenty of time to just go with the flow and just observe; it was completely relaxing. It made me think a lot about how rushed we often are and the pressures we put on ourselves and other to "save time."
As he goes through the process of a full examination, Dr. O'B lets drop little bits of information about the structure and function of the eye in general, your particular eye, asks pertinent questions about your history and so forth. All of this is delivered gently as if there is never any rush. He guessed, for example, that I had been nearsighted in childhood, which was true, on the basis of my prescription for cataract glasses. Meanwhile, he is typing away at a keyboard because of the new requirements to generally make people's medical information available as needed. He is not totally comfortable with this, and says he is still learning and the software is being improved, but he proceeds calmly, AS IF THERE WERE PLENTY OF TIME!
I can see, though that I am out of steam, if not time, for tonight, and since I want to write more about the rest of this experience and do some more thinking, I will finish tomorrow. You will be amazed to learn (at least I was!) that it makes a difference to your prescription if you move your eyeglasses slightly forward from where they now sit. ! Try that! Good night for now, DON'T RUSH to bed . . . .
autumn afternoon--
the sandy soil already dry after
last night's heavy rain
And for the poem, I just made you a leisurely haiku. There isn't any hurry.
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