I am profoundly nearsighted as well - I take off my glasses for reading, because I have excellent close-up vision. 👓 My husband and father-in-law are always amused by the subsequent search, but always tell me where my glasses are lurking.
My second grade teacher, Miss Rule, figured out that I needed glasses: I was reading everything I could lay my hands on, but whenever she asked me to answer a question on the blackboard, I was mute. When my father asked the optician if I really needed glasses, the doctor said, "If she looked at you from across the street, she wouldn't be able to recognize you." I never realized anything was wrong, so I'd never complained. What a world was revealed to me! I could see stars, individual leaves on the trees, birds, people, everything! Miss Rule gave me the gift of sight, and I will be forever grateful.
Did you know you were nearsighted before you were diagnosed? Were you amazed by the way the world really looked? I must admit that I sometimes enjoy taking off my glasses so I can enjoy the soft, amorphous vision of my youth.... thank you for nudging my memory. 😊
Such a nice memory Jeannine. It was fun to find you here and thanks for the lead on Mr. Keillor. I knew a young lady in my early youth. She related to me what at the time seemed the most impossible of stories. She explained that until she got her glasses she never realized what the power poles were for -- she couldn't see the wires! I feel like modern homes have become too large. Perhaps it is time for a combination room where we put our keys, our glasses and our socks. Real Estate agents could market them as the lost and found room.
Lost & Found Room - what an awesome idea! Though one of my ADHD survival strategies is to ALWAYS put my keys, glasses, etc. in a designated parking place... though you know what they say about "best laid plans!" 😂
I also got glasses for myopia in 2nd grade, we tolerated broken glasses periodically for the next few decades, plastic lenses helped reduce the weight. Seven years ago I found it necessary to have cataract surgery. I got lens replacement (fugal, covered by Medicare and insurance), with fixed focal length (8-10 feet) so now I'm far sighted but always wear then since I'm used to them and they're photogray to act as sunglasses. I've always had good color and hue discrimination and suddenly my perception of blues and violets improved. Doc said our lenses start aging the moment we're born and turn increasing shades of amber which reduces our blue/violet discrimination. I've had laser ablation of scar tissue invading from the edges of the lenses (quickie operation, 2 minutes, painless) and I'll never have to have that done again.
I also didn't realize I was nearsighted until I was about 15. My younger sister, who was 14 at the time, complained to our parents about not being able to see the blackboard in school and I realized that I had the same problem. It wasn't that bad then, but I became more nearsighted as I got older. I was always able to read and do close work without glasses. When I was a around 70 I had to have cataract surgery. For the first eye, which was very nearsighted, I asked my ophthamologist to keep it slightly nearsighted, so I only had to get one lens changed in my glasses. A year or so later when it was time to get the other, less nearsighted eye done, I asked to keep it about the same. After I recovered and had my vision tested, it turned out to be exactly the same and I didn't to get new glasses. I can still read with or without glasses and can walk around safely using my less-nearsighted eye. The next year my vision still hadn't changed but my glasses were old and damaged, so I got two pairs in a BOGO free deal. My eyes still haven't changed since then, so I thankful to have saved a lot of money because of my doctor's remarkable skill! My glasses (progressive lenses) usually cost about $700.
My in-laws have told me that cataract surgery gave them 20/20 vision. I have baby cataracts now, but the doc says I'm still a decade or two from needing surgery. I'm looking forward to 20/20! 🤓
I don't mind wearing glasses all the time, so I chose to remain nearsighted so I can read, sew, knit, do computer repairs, etc. without glasses. I didn't want to have to use reading glasses.
I love my close vision! I can see so many details on tiny things like insects, that other folks might miss... though some of those things they may well WANT to miss. 🕷
Too soon old, too late smart. Too often the story of my life. Reminds me of our siblings’ trip to London. Since our rooms wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours, we decided to take the “hop on, hop off” tour. No relaxing in a pub or park for us! Seeing as much as we could was our choice! After 5 hours of hopping in a heat wave, we were exhausted and getting cranky. Fortunately, I was able to provide some comic relief with one of my famous pratfalls after tripping on an uneven sidewalk. I’ll never forget the frightened eyes of the schoolchildren in front of me as I was going down. To their credit, my sibs did ask if I was okay before they started laughing.
I’ve never had a lot of money, and I spent a lot of money on things I couldn’t afford. About two weeks ago my daughter took me on a cruise for my birthday from Boston to Bermuda, Bermuda to Bar Harbor in Maine and then back to Boston. I swore I’d never go on a cruise because to my mind I would be in the middle of the ocean with a lot of drunk people I didn’t know, playing shuffleboard, bingo and trivia. I finally caved and it was nothing like that. I watched the green waters of Boston turn into a stunning tropical, turquoise blue, i walked in pink sand in Bermuda, and I sat down and dined in a luxurious restaurant on the ship called The Summer Palace every breakfast, lunch and dinner where a delightful waitress named Ni at table 17 (where we always sat) laid a crisp white linen across my lap and I ordered anything I wanted from the menu. It was delicious and peaceful and we ate our meals with a view of the ocean. Our every need was tended to. When we went back to our cabin to change into our swim suits the beds were freshly made and the towels we frugally used were replaced. On the first night I heard music coming from a lounge and it was wonderful. The young piano player had a sweet smile and was so talented; he had people filling in gaps in songs while he played and his playlist was as exceptional as his performance. I wondered what he was doing playing in a lounge on a cruise ship. He was a delight, and on the second night we met a couple from the UK and had a blast. The waiter brought me my 0% alcohol Heineken a short time after I finished one and there were delicious snacks on all the cocktail tables.
The reset when we got back to Boston was hard. It was pouring rain, we finally managed to find our driver and five minutes into the ride the car got a flat. We finally found another one which took us home to a clean house and an empty refrigerator. We had to drop our bags and drive to my sister’s in CT for a four hour drive that should have taken two, picked up our dog she was kind enough to take care of while we were gone, turned around early the next morning and drove back to Boston exhausted, but it could not retrieve all the wonderful memories of this trip.
I wondered as I fell asleep after this $4,000 excursion just how much money I had wasted over my lifetime on things I didn’t need or never ended up using and figured it would probably add up in the millions, which could not nearly compare to this treasured trip with my wonderful, generous, delightful daughter. I would donate most of those millions but leave us enough to live a secure, comfortable life. But regretting the past is useless with the exception of learning from it, and the best we can do is keep our fond memories growing up and treasuring every moment we have left in our hearts.
Yesterday I made my glasses into my bed instead of putting them on first thing, and it took me hours to track them down.
Good you took the cruise two weeks ago. Hurrican Leo is passing Bermuda and headed for Down East Maine and Nova Scotia. Today I was to meet my former neighbors on a cruise stopping in Bar Harbor and headed for Canada. Got a text last night that the cruise will not be stopping in Bar harbor (wise, but I don't know where they will go). Bangor is due for 50 mph winds and 3 inches of rain Saturday, more Doen East since Leo will hit the Bay of Funday then. C'est la vie.
We met a lovely couple from the UK on our cruise who were going on to Nova Scotia. Not sure of the timing as far as the storm is concerned. Hopefully they made it home safely. I guess I’ll find out when they’re able to respond to my gmail.
This is just the sort of thing that scares me about cruises. I’m not sure it will necessarily stop me from going on one in the future, but seeing some of Europe might be a better idea.
GK, I'm a wonderer too, about the seemed good and evil that plays through our lives, seeming often what they are not: broken bones or formerly fine relationships...left lovers and no entrance Stage Right.
Press on we must knowing not why. The reason is not given us, even though we may have a storied Helen teacher who causes us meaningful collisions. The best enquire I've ever found, was the Shakespearian response of Hamlet: "Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so" We are all players whose lines seem senseless. None is more exploratory than "King Lear," where he learned the hard way the truths of life. Be brave fellow octogenarian. We have truth and falth yet to learn, and some of us the hard way. We are blessed with the venial lessons. Play it on...The time will come when there is no time, and we all may see the reasons why no matter how woundrous or fearful.
Ah, those last 2 paragraphs. Thank you Miss Story. You made a difference for more people than you could possibly have imagined. And thank you Mr Keillor.
As I sit in a waiting room, waiting for my beloved octogenarian to return from a MRI scan of his spine to see what might be causing his left foot to tingle, along with a strange inability to move said foot naturally in his customarily impatient gait, I read your latest column and I am amused and comforted. You may personify human follies both ordinary and extraordinary, but you have an unerring sense of what’s most important in life, and I will always be grateful that the union of your parents produced YOU, another remarkable octogenarian who continues to inspire as you live your life well and fully.
I'll be 83 in 2 months and I have the QWIC philosophy -- Quit When I Can't. I try to take a half hour/mile+ walk every day and I can do an 18 minute mile indoors at the Y. I prefer to walk outdoors weather permitting (today it was only 20 minutes, started to sprinkle).
They should make one of those old-fashioned flip books of me getting out of bed and walking to the dresser where I keep my glasses, as I’ve done every day of my life since I’ve had glasses. Even in a hotel room, the dresser is where I put them at night. I’m boring...
It seems between keys and glasses lie the bane of the forgetful soul (to which I belong). I have forgotten how enjoyable your storytelling can be. It is a lot to forget as I was a multi-decade fan of the PHC. Many a lunchtime walk past the Fitz.
After years of not being able to find where I left my glasses, I finally bought an around-the-neck glasses-strap and life has never been better.
[My distance-sight is reasonably good, but I really need glasses for anything close-up such as reading (or preparing cucumbers for pickling, which is what I’ll be doing when I finish this note). In short, the sort of things I spend most of my day actually doing.
However, walking around while wearing my reading glasses can be awkward at best, so I was constantly taking them off, setting them down to go do something, and then a half hour later spending another ten minutes looking for them.
So, now, my glasses are always within easy reach. If you haven’t done so you might consider giving them a try.
(The only minor downside is the occasional wise guy and his “joke” of how I look like an old-timey librarian. But since some of my favorite people in the world have always been librarians --including my lovely wife-- I’ve always thought of this as a fine compliment.)]
Also spent much of my life barely able to see the big E without corrective lenses. How I wished for 20/20. I recall one morning (when still in my 40s) storming around the house for several minutes in search of my glasses. Then I noticed how surprisingly clear and focused the world was. I briefly entertained the idea that a miracle had occurred. Then reached up and confirmed that my glasses were already perched on my nose.
My Helen Story teacher was Elsie Mae Webb. She taught at North Denver High school and usually had the class of students who were not in the "advanced English" class. Never mind that, she saw potential in all of us to think analytically and explore vividly.
We all had to memorize Macbeth's pessimistic lines,
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Ms. Webb, also never married and a consummate teacher and lover of language, challenged the class with the question, "Should a man's reach exceed his grasp?" I was the only one who said no.
Maybe it was Macbeth or just my early pragmatic skepticism that promoted me to take the point of view that knowing one's limits is necessary. Overreaching will often end in disappointment. I've often debated that topic in my head and I think a bit more positively about the answer.
The second indelible memory is of Ms. Webb assigning the class to write a short whimsical essay.
I chose the topic of "whistling." This act was usually was done in a happy mood, a simple tune while walking home from my after-school job for instance. Unlike the ponderous life question or reciting Macbeth, whistling is the small and tuneful expression of joy. I got an A on the paper.
All my remembrances of Elsie Webb include that day in class, November 22, 1963, when she was called to the school office. When she came back to the room, she was ashen and in tears. She was the first to tell us that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Ms Webb, one of the few I had in all my years in school, showed us passion, empathy, and offered me some possibilities for a thoughtful life.
Dear Garrison: With all this discussion of glasses, I was severely tempted to lower the level and post a limerick about the boy whose mom discovered him masturbating, and told him
" Gary, you'll go blind if you don't stop that!!" Gary's reply: "I'm only going to do it until I need glasses!" But I have so much trouble with limericks I'm not going to do it. I did note that you needed glasses much earlier than I at 13. Of course, I grew up in California with much milder winters. Roger Krenkler - L.A.
I’ve been having fun having Bing generate limericks based on my suggestions. Worked until I entered Diludid. Then it turned into my Mom lol. Said it was too serious of a subject and suggested I seek treatment. I’ll let the surgeon know lol.
I also like the Macbeth quote and I often use the last sentence, "It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing", when responding to comment, full of garbage, in the online comments section of my newspaper. If I'm lazy, I'll just respond with "BalderdaSh", a less crude form of you know what.
Thank you for your post about Helen Story. I have many memories about her class. I remember her on the night of our graduation--she was all dressed up, & I realized she was proud of us. She taught us to have high expectations of ourselves!
To quote you on offering praise, “you do good work .”
I am profoundly nearsighted as well - I take off my glasses for reading, because I have excellent close-up vision. 👓 My husband and father-in-law are always amused by the subsequent search, but always tell me where my glasses are lurking.
My second grade teacher, Miss Rule, figured out that I needed glasses: I was reading everything I could lay my hands on, but whenever she asked me to answer a question on the blackboard, I was mute. When my father asked the optician if I really needed glasses, the doctor said, "If she looked at you from across the street, she wouldn't be able to recognize you." I never realized anything was wrong, so I'd never complained. What a world was revealed to me! I could see stars, individual leaves on the trees, birds, people, everything! Miss Rule gave me the gift of sight, and I will be forever grateful.
Did you know you were nearsighted before you were diagnosed? Were you amazed by the way the world really looked? I must admit that I sometimes enjoy taking off my glasses so I can enjoy the soft, amorphous vision of my youth.... thank you for nudging my memory. 😊
Such a nice memory Jeannine. It was fun to find you here and thanks for the lead on Mr. Keillor. I knew a young lady in my early youth. She related to me what at the time seemed the most impossible of stories. She explained that until she got her glasses she never realized what the power poles were for -- she couldn't see the wires! I feel like modern homes have become too large. Perhaps it is time for a combination room where we put our keys, our glasses and our socks. Real Estate agents could market them as the lost and found room.
Lost & Found Room - what an awesome idea! Though one of my ADHD survival strategies is to ALWAYS put my keys, glasses, etc. in a designated parking place... though you know what they say about "best laid plans!" 😂
I would imagine Zillow has an AI bot scraping Substack. Alas, I did not protect my IP. Back to the salt mine for me.
I also got glasses for myopia in 2nd grade, we tolerated broken glasses periodically for the next few decades, plastic lenses helped reduce the weight. Seven years ago I found it necessary to have cataract surgery. I got lens replacement (fugal, covered by Medicare and insurance), with fixed focal length (8-10 feet) so now I'm far sighted but always wear then since I'm used to them and they're photogray to act as sunglasses. I've always had good color and hue discrimination and suddenly my perception of blues and violets improved. Doc said our lenses start aging the moment we're born and turn increasing shades of amber which reduces our blue/violet discrimination. I've had laser ablation of scar tissue invading from the edges of the lenses (quickie operation, 2 minutes, painless) and I'll never have to have that done again.
I also didn't realize I was nearsighted until I was about 15. My younger sister, who was 14 at the time, complained to our parents about not being able to see the blackboard in school and I realized that I had the same problem. It wasn't that bad then, but I became more nearsighted as I got older. I was always able to read and do close work without glasses. When I was a around 70 I had to have cataract surgery. For the first eye, which was very nearsighted, I asked my ophthamologist to keep it slightly nearsighted, so I only had to get one lens changed in my glasses. A year or so later when it was time to get the other, less nearsighted eye done, I asked to keep it about the same. After I recovered and had my vision tested, it turned out to be exactly the same and I didn't to get new glasses. I can still read with or without glasses and can walk around safely using my less-nearsighted eye. The next year my vision still hadn't changed but my glasses were old and damaged, so I got two pairs in a BOGO free deal. My eyes still haven't changed since then, so I thankful to have saved a lot of money because of my doctor's remarkable skill! My glasses (progressive lenses) usually cost about $700.
My in-laws have told me that cataract surgery gave them 20/20 vision. I have baby cataracts now, but the doc says I'm still a decade or two from needing surgery. I'm looking forward to 20/20! 🤓
I don't mind wearing glasses all the time, so I chose to remain nearsighted so I can read, sew, knit, do computer repairs, etc. without glasses. I didn't want to have to use reading glasses.
I love my close vision! I can see so many details on tiny things like insects, that other folks might miss... though some of those things they may well WANT to miss. 🕷
I know what you mean. It is difficult to do close work with glasses on - especially with progressive lenses.
Simply beautiful. How elegant you are, Mr. Keillor.
Too soon old, too late smart. Too often the story of my life. Reminds me of our siblings’ trip to London. Since our rooms wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours, we decided to take the “hop on, hop off” tour. No relaxing in a pub or park for us! Seeing as much as we could was our choice! After 5 hours of hopping in a heat wave, we were exhausted and getting cranky. Fortunately, I was able to provide some comic relief with one of my famous pratfalls after tripping on an uneven sidewalk. I’ll never forget the frightened eyes of the schoolchildren in front of me as I was going down. To their credit, my sibs did ask if I was okay before they started laughing.
The crude translation of the Pennsylvania Dutch (found on souvenirs in Lancaster County) is "Vie get too soon old und too late schmart"
I’ve never had a lot of money, and I spent a lot of money on things I couldn’t afford. About two weeks ago my daughter took me on a cruise for my birthday from Boston to Bermuda, Bermuda to Bar Harbor in Maine and then back to Boston. I swore I’d never go on a cruise because to my mind I would be in the middle of the ocean with a lot of drunk people I didn’t know, playing shuffleboard, bingo and trivia. I finally caved and it was nothing like that. I watched the green waters of Boston turn into a stunning tropical, turquoise blue, i walked in pink sand in Bermuda, and I sat down and dined in a luxurious restaurant on the ship called The Summer Palace every breakfast, lunch and dinner where a delightful waitress named Ni at table 17 (where we always sat) laid a crisp white linen across my lap and I ordered anything I wanted from the menu. It was delicious and peaceful and we ate our meals with a view of the ocean. Our every need was tended to. When we went back to our cabin to change into our swim suits the beds were freshly made and the towels we frugally used were replaced. On the first night I heard music coming from a lounge and it was wonderful. The young piano player had a sweet smile and was so talented; he had people filling in gaps in songs while he played and his playlist was as exceptional as his performance. I wondered what he was doing playing in a lounge on a cruise ship. He was a delight, and on the second night we met a couple from the UK and had a blast. The waiter brought me my 0% alcohol Heineken a short time after I finished one and there were delicious snacks on all the cocktail tables.
The reset when we got back to Boston was hard. It was pouring rain, we finally managed to find our driver and five minutes into the ride the car got a flat. We finally found another one which took us home to a clean house and an empty refrigerator. We had to drop our bags and drive to my sister’s in CT for a four hour drive that should have taken two, picked up our dog she was kind enough to take care of while we were gone, turned around early the next morning and drove back to Boston exhausted, but it could not retrieve all the wonderful memories of this trip.
I wondered as I fell asleep after this $4,000 excursion just how much money I had wasted over my lifetime on things I didn’t need or never ended up using and figured it would probably add up in the millions, which could not nearly compare to this treasured trip with my wonderful, generous, delightful daughter. I would donate most of those millions but leave us enough to live a secure, comfortable life. But regretting the past is useless with the exception of learning from it, and the best we can do is keep our fond memories growing up and treasuring every moment we have left in our hearts.
Yesterday I made my glasses into my bed instead of putting them on first thing, and it took me hours to track them down.
Good you took the cruise two weeks ago. Hurrican Leo is passing Bermuda and headed for Down East Maine and Nova Scotia. Today I was to meet my former neighbors on a cruise stopping in Bar Harbor and headed for Canada. Got a text last night that the cruise will not be stopping in Bar harbor (wise, but I don't know where they will go). Bangor is due for 50 mph winds and 3 inches of rain Saturday, more Doen East since Leo will hit the Bay of Funday then. C'est la vie.
We met a lovely couple from the UK on our cruise who were going on to Nova Scotia. Not sure of the timing as far as the storm is concerned. Hopefully they made it home safely. I guess I’ll find out when they’re able to respond to my gmail.
This is just the sort of thing that scares me about cruises. I’m not sure it will necessarily stop me from going on one in the future, but seeing some of Europe might be a better idea.
GK, I'm a wonderer too, about the seemed good and evil that plays through our lives, seeming often what they are not: broken bones or formerly fine relationships...left lovers and no entrance Stage Right.
Press on we must knowing not why. The reason is not given us, even though we may have a storied Helen teacher who causes us meaningful collisions. The best enquire I've ever found, was the Shakespearian response of Hamlet: "Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so" We are all players whose lines seem senseless. None is more exploratory than "King Lear," where he learned the hard way the truths of life. Be brave fellow octogenarian. We have truth and falth yet to learn, and some of us the hard way. We are blessed with the venial lessons. Play it on...The time will come when there is no time, and we all may see the reasons why no matter how woundrous or fearful.
Ah, those last 2 paragraphs. Thank you Miss Story. You made a difference for more people than you could possibly have imagined. And thank you Mr Keillor.
As I sit in a waiting room, waiting for my beloved octogenarian to return from a MRI scan of his spine to see what might be causing his left foot to tingle, along with a strange inability to move said foot naturally in his customarily impatient gait, I read your latest column and I am amused and comforted. You may personify human follies both ordinary and extraordinary, but you have an unerring sense of what’s most important in life, and I will always be grateful that the union of your parents produced YOU, another remarkable octogenarian who continues to inspire as you live your life well and fully.
I'll be 83 in 2 months and I have the QWIC philosophy -- Quit When I Can't. I try to take a half hour/mile+ walk every day and I can do an 18 minute mile indoors at the Y. I prefer to walk outdoors weather permitting (today it was only 20 minutes, started to sprinkle).
They should make one of those old-fashioned flip books of me getting out of bed and walking to the dresser where I keep my glasses, as I’ve done every day of my life since I’ve had glasses. Even in a hotel room, the dresser is where I put them at night. I’m boring...
That kind of boring is great. Knowing where to look to find something is elegant. Why fart around with 'lost' when 'not lost' can be right there?
Hilarious, sign me up for that book when it's published)
It seems between keys and glasses lie the bane of the forgetful soul (to which I belong). I have forgotten how enjoyable your storytelling can be. It is a lot to forget as I was a multi-decade fan of the PHC. Many a lunchtime walk past the Fitz.
Good morning, Garrison
After years of not being able to find where I left my glasses, I finally bought an around-the-neck glasses-strap and life has never been better.
[My distance-sight is reasonably good, but I really need glasses for anything close-up such as reading (or preparing cucumbers for pickling, which is what I’ll be doing when I finish this note). In short, the sort of things I spend most of my day actually doing.
However, walking around while wearing my reading glasses can be awkward at best, so I was constantly taking them off, setting them down to go do something, and then a half hour later spending another ten minutes looking for them.
So, now, my glasses are always within easy reach. If you haven’t done so you might consider giving them a try.
(The only minor downside is the occasional wise guy and his “joke” of how I look like an old-timey librarian. But since some of my favorite people in the world have always been librarians --including my lovely wife-- I’ve always thought of this as a fine compliment.)]
What a beautiful rendition of that special song!
We have a good mind!
Also spent much of my life barely able to see the big E without corrective lenses. How I wished for 20/20. I recall one morning (when still in my 40s) storming around the house for several minutes in search of my glasses. Then I noticed how surprisingly clear and focused the world was. I briefly entertained the idea that a miracle had occurred. Then reached up and confirmed that my glasses were already perched on my nose.
LOL
It was definitely a humbling experience.
My Helen Story teacher was Elsie Mae Webb. She taught at North Denver High school and usually had the class of students who were not in the "advanced English" class. Never mind that, she saw potential in all of us to think analytically and explore vividly.
We all had to memorize Macbeth's pessimistic lines,
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Ms. Webb, also never married and a consummate teacher and lover of language, challenged the class with the question, "Should a man's reach exceed his grasp?" I was the only one who said no.
Maybe it was Macbeth or just my early pragmatic skepticism that promoted me to take the point of view that knowing one's limits is necessary. Overreaching will often end in disappointment. I've often debated that topic in my head and I think a bit more positively about the answer.
The second indelible memory is of Ms. Webb assigning the class to write a short whimsical essay.
I chose the topic of "whistling." This act was usually was done in a happy mood, a simple tune while walking home from my after-school job for instance. Unlike the ponderous life question or reciting Macbeth, whistling is the small and tuneful expression of joy. I got an A on the paper.
All my remembrances of Elsie Webb include that day in class, November 22, 1963, when she was called to the school office. When she came back to the room, she was ashen and in tears. She was the first to tell us that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Ms Webb, one of the few I had in all my years in school, showed us passion, empathy, and offered me some possibilities for a thoughtful life.
Dear Garrison: With all this discussion of glasses, I was severely tempted to lower the level and post a limerick about the boy whose mom discovered him masturbating, and told him
" Gary, you'll go blind if you don't stop that!!" Gary's reply: "I'm only going to do it until I need glasses!" But I have so much trouble with limericks I'm not going to do it. I did note that you needed glasses much earlier than I at 13. Of course, I grew up in California with much milder winters. Roger Krenkler - L.A.
I’ve been having fun having Bing generate limericks based on my suggestions. Worked until I entered Diludid. Then it turned into my Mom lol. Said it was too serious of a subject and suggested I seek treatment. I’ll let the surgeon know lol.
Life’s but the small and tuneful expression of joy, and then is heard no more.
I also like the Macbeth quote and I often use the last sentence, "It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing", when responding to comment, full of garbage, in the online comments section of my newspaper. If I'm lazy, I'll just respond with "BalderdaSh", a less crude form of you know what.
Thank you for your post about Helen Story. I have many memories about her class. I remember her on the night of our graduation--she was all dressed up, & I realized she was proud of us. She taught us to have high expectations of ourselves!