THE EYES HAVE IT!
Last week I came to the realization
that I’m having a problem
with my eyesight and maybe it’s
time to be examined for new eyeglasses.
When did that happen?
It’s not that I don’t use my eyes all
the time to not notice something is
amiss. Maybe I even use them too
much because I’m awake most of
the day. I now have my nose an
inch away from whatever I’m reading
or doing. It’s especially risky
when I’m checking the flame under
whatever I’m cooking. Although
I’m really not too worried about
that, because cooking is not my
thing and it doesn’t happen too
often. The kicker is all of a sudden
whatever looked good before is not
looking good now and whatever
looked bad before is looking better.
For example, when I tell you I’m
looking a bit younger--that’s with
the help of my make-up. When I
feel I look ten years younger, it’s
either cataracts or the need for
new prescriptive glasses! In my
case it’s both.
Years ago, glasses were not as
beautiful as they are now. These
days they’re referred to as eye
candy or eye bling and they can
truly enhance one’s “look.” It
has become a multimillion dollar
industry with even clothing designers
carving a niche for themselves
with their au currant design as
fashion accessories. I remember
as a kid in school, I felt sorry for
any classmates who had to wear
glasses because sometimes they
were teased and called four-eyes.
Not a good feeling and hopefully
not occurring as much these days.
“Seeing someone wearing eyeglasses
today is just as common as seeing
a person wearing a scarf during the
wintertime.”* Now, with Armani
or Gucci emblazoned across the
frame it becomes a statement.
Some people even have plain glass
in their frames to get in on the act.
Our eyes are one of the most
essential parts of our body. It has
been said they are the doorway to
the soul. Well, I think in my case
my entrance foyer is making it a
challenge with all the fuzziness
and squinting taking place. Eyes
are frequently associated with
intelligence, like when you see
someone grasp an idea you can
see the light go on in their eyes.
As a teacher it was such a gift to
see that illumination in a student.
Shifty eyes--hmm. How about not
being forthright? Sometimes when
seeking the truth, haven’t you
ever looked into someone’s eyes?
Occasionally, a conversation can
go like this: “Oh, I’m sorry that you
thought I asked you to buy only 6
cookies. I really needed the four
more. By the way, wipe the crumbs
off your shirt.”
A glint or twinkle shows good
humor. Don’t the pictures of Santa
prove that? How about a “mind’s
eye?” Ask our creative geniuses
about that--Einstein, Edison and
Alexander Graham Bell? Without
them, no Theory of Relativity, no
electricity and no telephone, which
eventually brought us the internet. I
know I was the “apple” of my dad’s
eye. Did that mean he wanted to
take a bite out of me or was I cute
and precious?
The first wearable glasses
appeared in Italy during the
thirteenth century and possibly
in the town of Pisa. You can tell
me all you want about the Tower
of Pisa and its tilt because of its
problematic foundation. In looking
back, it could have possibly been a
prime example of incorrect vision.
It was designed and built before
glasses were invented, Actually, an
alternative thought just occurred,
that someone had a bit too much
to drink while building it. I saw the
Tower about three years ago and
it was reinforced to stand a little
straighter. Truthfully I liked it more
with the tilt. Maybe that’s when I
should have realized it was time
for a change in my glasses!
By now you know I’m a curious
person, always eager to understand
or learn something new. So,
how and when did this notion of
wearing glasses and corrective
vision first start? Does thousands
of years ago sound feasible? Who
would think that? The history
of such a sophisticated concept
began with the development of
lenses by the ancient Egyptians
and Mesopotamians. The word
“optics” is derived from a Greek
term meaning “appearance, look.”
Personally, I like the Greek term
shish ka bob much better. More
appetizing!
Ptolemy, known to us as an
astrologer, mathematician and
philosopher, was one of those
ancient Egyptians whose research
in optics was used as a basis from
which many “new” theories about
vision were launched. Using that
knowledge as a foundation, and
with additional sophisticated
research over so many, many
years, eventually led us to where
we are today. It really wasn’t that
simple, but I guess you had to start
somewhere. What’s a few thousand
years when measuring the changes
in civilization over time?
Did you know that Nero wore
the first sunglasses while watching
the gladiators fight? No? Of course,
he didn’t know that either and they
weren’t exactly Ray-Bans. He held
up two emeralds to his eyes to cut
the glare. Maybe if he wore glasses
all the time he would have realized
Rome was burning while he was
fiddling around? But did he have
a sinus problem and not have been
able to smell the fire? I guess they
didn’t have otolaryngologists in
those days.
Skipping ahead to the eighteenth
century, glasses were starting to
become recognized for what they
needed to do. Primitive glass blown
lenses of different thicknesses were
set into wooden, bone or leather
frames and held before the face
or perched on the nose. During
this time, glasses also grew to be
“hands free” with the introduction
of temples to extend over the ear.
After this innovation, new developments
with glasses began to
speed up when Benjamin Franklin
added to the versatility of glasses
by inventing bifocal lenses. This
allowed a person with both near
(FORGIVE THE PUN ON
“THE AYES HAVE IT.”)
16 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ January 2022