The creator of Dilbert wrote about a fascinating, and deeply scary, event in his life; the loss and find of his voice.
I imagine it is one of those things that you have to experience to truly appreciate. To most of us it sounds almost trivial. In the end he asks people to write about the happiest moment of their life. In a similar, though far more common, vein to Scott’s experience I think one of my happiest moments was the day I got contact-lenses.
I am not blind but I do have to wear something to correct my eyes. Reading, driving, playing sport or working without glasses is a blurry, dangerous experience for me. I think most people take their eyesight for granted and have very little idea what it is like to be dependant on two circles of polished plastic on a bit of wire.
People like me know that coca-cola is a good way of keeping those tiny eye-glass screws in place.
And so the day I got contact-lenses was a good day. I could go from the cold outdoors to the warm indoors and not be temporarily blinded as my glasses demisted. I could wear a diving mask and actually see what was going on underwater (glasses don’t fit in most diving masks.) I finally had decent peripheral vision. I could wear any pair of sunglasses I wanted. I didn’t have to use the hem of my shirt to clean my glasses every 15 minutes. I could run or cycle and not worry about my glasses slipping off. Helmets fitted better and I could see the girl I was kissing.
Everything felt very big and clear that first day I walked around with contact-lenses in.
I imagine an even happier day will be the one when I remove the cotton wads from my eyes after laser surgery and not be dependant on anything to see ever again.
