I was trying to park for just a minute in a yellow zone ~ yeaaaa, I know ~ and when the tires were done turning, I looked toward the parking meter, and saw the words on its post... listing the towing warning and when parking is allowed, and then it dawned on me:

I was sitting inside my car, still belted in and behind the wheel, and I could see the words on that parking meter post! Even when I had glasses, I couldn't read the words!

It's not only a miracle, this bit of modern technology, but amazing! That in some little-noticed daily routine of Life that everyone takes for granted: breathing, touching, drinking, seeing.... that I could see well without glasses for the first time in soooo many years!

Everyday is a revelation for me in regards to my vision. Sometimes I cant see well, or hardly at all, and after a few simple blinks, my vision return after the cornea is a bit more well-moisturized.

Today I was on the road almost all day and didn't get back to my cell till after sunset. I had missed two of my required eye-drop applications and my vision paid dearly... I could hardly see at all during the drive home in the dark night. However I still know that my eyesight is better now without glasses than it's ever been in the last four decades!

We take so much for granted, and we don't realize how much we have (or not have) till it's gone..... or in this case, till something that has gone bad and has been replaced.

And yes, I did try to blind myself looking directly into a bright golden sphere tonight. But one needs to see what is all around... as in most events... there is more to the eye than the main "performance"... one must look elsewhere, because the main event is often just one part of a whole scenario that often we forget to notice....

It's when we take that moment to pause for a second to see what else there is, then we can truly appreciate what Life offers and how WE also offer something in return.

Oh... double crap!!!

Just back from my second followup at the San Jose clinic where they advised me my eyes were healing quite nicely. The protective clear contacts were removed ~ or should I say they were peeled off my cornea and was I ever glad, though my vision went lousy again in having to readjust yet again. I'm still very happy with the progressing results and I realize it'll take time before my vision gets as "good" as it'll possibly get. I've driven a few times at night now and I don't see any of the halos some have been warning me about, and though bright daylight bothers me still after decades of being protected from that, I'm even getting used to that!

To "celebrate" this milestone, and quite satisfied by my first camera test Sunday, I went out with my camera to shoot the sunset tonight, though possibly I might have overdone it.

Not like an overdone steak on a sizzling grill, nor a too baked potato in the oven...

Sure, that golden sun was bright, but it was also so beautiful... I've blinded myself many times previous, even after I warn friends and others not to look at the sun until it is lower in the sky....

Did I possibly harm myself or worst: did I harm my new vision and the still healing cornea?

But look at this image; was it worth it?

If just to capture one last glimpse...
One last soft kiss...
one last tender embrace...

Would I?

Should I slip from this golden paradise after such a vision
                after your loving lips
                        after this last farewell embrace

Would I?

If my eyes could etch into my memory the ocean wide
remember that last look upon the beauty before me
                        and many other delights previous
would I sacrifice my vision
                       my eyes
for such beauty not otherwise seen in a life so simple?

and if that were to be my brief death....
then be it so
take my eyes,
for I have often stolen that delightful scene
  the unforgettable view
  that splash of color so vivid

my desire for such glory has smitten my soul
                              my mind
                                  and my eyes

and I in my darkness ever more
stay this the last beauty my unseeing eyes spy ever again