operation eyeglasses: aborted

A memorable line in “Do the Right Thing” features an old drunk saying something like, “This is America. And in America you can’t make a man change his beer”.

And apparently you can’t make a 90-year-old man change his eye doctor, or anything else for that matter.

My old college friend The Godfather fixed me up with a local eye doctor for this Obi-Wan eyeglasses venture. I thought that was pretty sweet since all the money collected could now go solely towards eyeglasses and potential cataract surgery (the surgery was news to me – I thought he was in need of a simple prescription only).

But Obi-Wan refused to see anybody that wasn’t HIS doctor. OK. Fine. We’ll eat that cost. So we scheduled an appointment for this eye doctor who he hasn’t seen in years.

The soonest Obi-Wan can be seen: December. Unless, of course, there’s a cancellation.

I sort of explained to him that a few friends of mine pitched in to get some glasses and I didn’t want to sit on it for five months. He understood, but he’s sticking with his doctor and his schedule for whatever reason.

I don’t understand this “loyalty to doctors” thing that I’ve witnessed in the elderly. Agent Wife and I didn’t care for the doctor who delivered our first kid. So we got us another one for Agent Offspring #2.

But for these eyeglasses, we tried. To all who gave: I thank you. I will be contacting you individually for instructions on returning your money.

I also apologize. I admit, I probably jumped the gun on this ordeal without fully researching all the facts. I just made a knee-jerk reaction when told he needed glasses that he couldn't afford.

In the end, we received a total of $850. That’s about doubled what I had asked for ($400-$500). I’m still shocked.

This wasn’t a wasted effort as it gave me some slice of hope in the act of asking people for things. I mean, in light of my past experiences in asking for help, and thus my views stated in the highly unpopular “Kiss the Ass That Feeds You” series (I, II, III, and addendum), I never thought I’d ask anyone for anything again.

Thanks for opening my eyes and proving that it can be done. And if for that alone, this was not a wasted effort.