As I type this, I am nearly blind. I can't really read what the words say on the screen, so I hope my fingers are automatically remembering where the keys are. They usually do.

I went to the eye doctor and got several different kinds of drops dropped. Or perhaps I should say the drops were dripped?

At any rate, I don't know what all I was tested for, but I do know that I am much worse off for it. Having one's pupils dilated by chemical means is in no way a pleasant experience.

However, I suppose if something turns out to be wrong inside the eye, one would hope such an aggravating test would start to become worthwhile. So much of life is like insurance — something you do that you hope you don't need to do.

Maybe we would be better off without it in some ways. However, I probably just feel that way because I am the one who is suffering. I must say, it was much worse than I remembered.

Once the doctor put in the drops, it was just a few minutes and then I couldn't see at all.

Perhaps I am not being fair here. I suppose I could see to some degree, but it was nothing like what I could see before. Then I soon found my way back to the examination room and was searched, lighted, peered at and peeked into.

The doctor assured me that I would be fine.

Just prior to going through that experience, I had to have my vision checked several different ways and had looked at a few new pairs of glasses. They used my old glasses to see what my prescription was supposed to be before and then used that thing with lenses in it to re-check my eyes.

You know the one — "One or two?" The doctor asks. "Two or three?" After getting to six and eight, the whole world was coming into focus, the same way it used to when my other glasses were new.

My eyes have apparently gotten a little worse than they were the last time I went. Who says a body has to be dead to decompose? I'm already falling apart.

Then I had to order the glasses. Even with my insurance, those set me back more than $200. It's hard to afford many licks like that. The lenses were one price, the frames another and then the options could have added on a lot more. If I had taken everything they offered, I would have probably spent at least $450 for one pair of glasses.

I was going to get those lenses that change colors, but I couldn't see shelling out another $150 for that. Who could afford it? Someone, evidently, since it is still being offered.

I spent most of Friday afternoon wearing sunglasses in the office. I would say that most everyone who saw me had questions.

I told most of the people I talked to about having my eyes checked. The rest of them probably just thought I was weird. They might be right anyway.

I really like to wear sunglasses when it snows because of all the light reflecting back up into my eyes, but I hate to try and imagine buying prescription sunglasses to go along with my regular pair. I noticed some of the names, Gucci, RayBan, Eddy Bauer and several others I can't pronounce or remember.

I lose about three pairs of cheap sunglasses each year. Last year, I bought a pair and left them on the hood of the truck. Once before, I left them in a business somewhere and couldn't find them later. That was hard enough to pay for, even at $10 or less a pair. But at over $200 a pop, it wouldn't take me long to be in bankruptcy. I would say two pairs might do it if the month was right.

I can't feel too badly about buying new glasses. I have had the same pair for about five years, so I guess I got my money's worth out of them. The lenses are now scratched and fall out from time to time. Actually, there is a gap between the lens and the frame and the doctor said they can't be fixed. I can still use them for a spare pair, I suppose. I don't really mind popping a lens in every once in a while if I need to.

I suppose I am looking at this all the wrong way. There are somethings that are hard to put a price tag on. Having clarity in one's sight is one thing I consider very important.

Of course, it doesn't rank nearly as highly as having a place to live and food to eat, but it is probably more important than buying a new wardrobe and keeping a supply of microwave popcorn on hand.

When you are looking at the world through a scratched lens, it is hard to justify not taking care of the problem. At least insurance covered the visit, leaving me with only a $15 bill to pay.

Even so, it's going to be hard to look to the bright side — at least until my pupils return to their normal size.

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