September 13, 2019
Dear Everyone:
Four and a half years ago, when my driver’s license was due to expire, I
discovered that I could not just go online, fill out a form, and pay a
fee. I was required to come
in to a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office.
This presented a bit of a problem, because most of the local offices did
not have any appointments available until after the license was due to
expire. However, I was lucky
enough to find an opening at the field office in Concord, a mere 15-20
miles away.
I deduced that, once a person has passed a certain age, the DMV requires
one to physically prove that they are still alive, and capable of
passing the rudimentary eye exam to get their license renewed.
Because I was able to make an appointment online, my actual wait
was fairly short. It was
only when I took the eye exam that I noticed a possible problem.
I couldn’t see the chart as clearly with the left eye as with the
right one.
Spoiler alert! I did pass
the exam and got my license renewed.
I even corrected the official record of how tall I am, having
misplaced a few inches since moving to California 47 years ago.
But I became aware that my vision was not as good as it could be in the
left eye. I brought it up at
the next time I had an examination and the doctor confirmed that I had a
cataract developing. This
came as little surprise since our mother had cataracts, as well as at
least one sibling.
It wasn’t anything severe, just something to monitor for the time being.
Last December, I brought it up again, since I knew that my
driver’s license would expire in 2020.
The eye doctor told me that it would be entirely my decision when
to have cataract surgery, but that she recommended allowing at least six
months recovery time before taking the eye exam at the DMV.
That’s about six months away now.
And I’m scheduled for cataract surgery next Monday.
The eye clinic has loads of information on its website, including
numerous videos regarding what they do and why, what to expect before,
during and after surgery, and so on.
The ophthalmologist even tells one what to do after the surgery.
In a word: Nothing.
Just relax and keep your eyes closed.
For hours. He also
suggested listening to a “book on tape”.
I thought, “You’re dating yourself, doc.”
Who has books on tape anymore?
Who even has a machine that could play a book on tape?
Of course, he meant an audio book.
And I decided to investigate the subject.
I quickly discovered that most audible books are intended to be played
on either an iPhone, or iPad (i.e., Apple products); or on an Android
device (i.e., Google.) It
just so happens that I have an Android tablet.
I got it when I discovered that downloading videos from my
Xfinity (Comcast) service required one of the abovementioned operating
systems.
In fact, when I started to look into downloading the audible book app, I
found out my tablet already had it pre-loaded.
It only needed to be updated.
After that, it was simply a matter of choosing an appropriate
audio book.
Way back when I was a little, bitty kid, I remember sitting in my
little, bitty desk at Our Lady of the Lake, listening to Sister Mary
Fill-In-the-Blank read a book to the class a little bit at a time.
It was her way of maintaining order in the classroom.
If we didn’t behave, we would lose our daily fix.
The book was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The same Frances Hodgson Burnett responsible for inflicting
Little Lord Fauntleroy upon the world.
Years later, when I was considered old enough to get a library card, one
of the first books I found to check out was The Secret Garden.
Set at the turn of the Twentieth Century, it told the story of a
little girl, and a couple little boys who, together, discovered an
abandoned garden at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, England.
And, sure enough, Amazon had it as an audio book.
I managed to sidestep Amazon’s efforts to ensnare me in their
$14.95-per-month “club”. I
bought the book outright and downloaded it to the tablet.
I’ve already started listening to it.
I found it much more enjoyable than the listening to the usual
television-talking-heads-rehashing-the-same-news-as-an-hour-ago while
conducting my physical therapy exercises.
Now I just have to hold off until next Monday, lest I finish the book
before the surgery is done.
Love, as always,
Pete
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