by Dan Roberts - MD Support
Chris and I held a yard sale last weekend. The good news is that we made over $500. The bad news is that it will cost $1500 to repair the damage to our minivan.
See, I think we vision-impaired people depend a lot on our memories. I remember where the stairs are from the last time I fell down them. I remember which section of the drawer the spoons are in--not the forks, which my granddaughter insists she can't eat cereal with. I remember where I leave the remote: on the table to the right of my chair. Heck, I even leave it pointing at the TV so I don't spend precious minutes trying to change the channels on my chest before I realize I'm holding it backwards. A good memory can save time when you don't see well.
So on Sunday, I carefully drove into the yard to load up our leftovers to take to the Blind Thrift Store. When I was ready to back out into the drive, I thought to myself, "I know there's a tree back there, but I don't remember going around it to get here, so I'll bet if I drive straight backwards, I'll miss it."
I was wrong.
Okay, Monday morning I stopped by the post office. While waiting my turn, I saw Sheila, an old teacher friend of mine, at the counter. It has been a few years since my retirement, but that was Sheila, all right. I couldn't quite make out her face, but she was talking a blue streak, as usual, to the postal clerk about something or other.
By way of greeting her, I jokingly said, "You know, if some people weren't so gabby, the rest of us might get faster service here (big grin)." She quickly gathered her purse and turned to leave, and as she passed me, she quietly apologized. It wasn't Sheila. I don't know who it was. All I know is that my apology meant zip to her, and I'll never be able to show my face in that post office again.
I learned one of two things from these past few days:
1. If I'm going to trust my memory to replace my vision, then I'd better start eating more fish. Or ...
2. I can't remember the second one.
Anyway, I hope the second half of my week will be better, and I hope yours is going splendidly.