Sunday, October 10, 2010

I'll Be . . .

I haven’t posted anything in a week. Or answered any emails. Or read any blogs. Or made any comments on your comments. Or read any of the great articles in my back copies of Nudist Quarterly.

There's a terrible reason why I’ve done none of these things because everything looks like this:


And this:


No, I don't see eye charts everywhere I look. I see regular stuff, but in its BLURRED and DOUBLE VISION format. Font size, which I can control from my keyboard, makes no difference—the blur and dv are just larger.

Sadly, the deterioration of my eyesight is the result of drugs I take for my lungs and heart. Prednisone, the major culprit, has caused the irreversible damage to my optic nerves. This photo is an example, but my own photos look remarkably like the one on the right.


Until I figure out a workaround so I can actively blog again, a Plan B as it were, I’ll leave you with a song by Jimmie Durante, a television pioneer in the 1950s and one of my kidhood favorites.

I’ve reduced the YouTube video to a Podbean kind of thing because it’s all about the song, dedicated to each and every one of you.



[End of health update #2,567.]

27 comments:

Lois said...

Charlie.......you have my utmost sympathy. I.too, have vision problems....have lost one eye to macular degeneration and have problems with my remaining "good " eye. I am going to offer one suggestion on the off chance it might help.

I have a strange pair of glasses in which the lens part is a solid black material pierced all over with perforations. Believe it or not, one can see through them. Sometimes when my vision is poor I can see better looking thru these glasses. I do not remember where I got them, but your opthamologist might know or perhaps you can find them on the computer.

.....this is obviously what is known as "the blind leading the blind":. Good luck, darling.

hope said...

So sorry. And yet I feel guilty typing.

Maybe Kim Ayres can teach all of us how to put our comments on an audio loop for you. :)

savmarshmama said...

i heard the first 2 notes and started crying IMMEDIATELY! i am so sorry, sugar. i'll be looking at the moon, but i'll be seeing you... my love to you and martha. xoxoxox

Mapstew said...

I love Mr. Durante, such emotion.

My eyesight gets worse by the week, how I move about the stage is beyond me sometimes. Vanity prohibits me from spec-wearing while performing, though the rest of the band happily stare through 'less than rose tinted' glasses!

Love to you Charles my friend.

Syd said...

It's okay Charlie. Take care and conserve your eyesight. It is good to read you.

Robert the Skeptic said...

Damn, I remember watching Jimmie Durante on TV (black and white) when I was a kid. Loved that song.
You know, Charlie, you can get these software thingies that READ the text on the screen and play through the speaker. It sounds like Stephen Hawking, but hell, he's a bright guy. I think you can even set them to a female voice, if you are "into" that kind of thing!!!

Stinkypaw said...

Hey Charlie, sorry to read this. Do take care of yourself, and know I'll be thinking of you.
'luvu 'ole man

Stasia said...

Charlie Brain,

You take care of yourself. I will miss seeing you around, but your health is top priority. I wish I could help.

Kid-at-heart said...

Your sight may be failing, but you have the clearest vision of anyone I've ever known, Charlie. If there's a way for you to keep blogging, you'll figure it out. And we'll be here.

laytonwoman3rd a/k/a kid-at-heart a/k/a Linda

Djanstewart said...

I also echo all the comments here, take care of your eyesight and thanks for getting the song and a post up for your fans anyway. But it's good to know you are still hanging in there, Charlie.

Kevin said...

I echo the other comments.

Ta for the song.

You look after yourself.

TechnoBabe said...

Hi Charlie, What a shame that one of the pastimes that you enjoy is now even more difficult to write posts and enjoy reading other blogs. Darn and double darn. Jimmy Durante was really something wasn't he?

Faysoflife said...

Man, can I relate to not seeing! I have a voice recognition software thingie I use sometimes with huge font. I also recommend getting a reader. I prefer one about 6 foot four inches talld, broad shoulders, shining green eyes, who gives me a massage while reading to me. You, of course, are free to come up with your own fanta. . . . I mean reader.
I miss you.

Joni said...

The things we carry with us, those memories that come to the surface with simply a song. But its not that simple as we all know. Be as well as you are able, and return here soon.

Pat said...

Hooray for Schnozzle!
So sorry about your eyes. I suppose a podbean from you would be out of the question?

Wandering Coyote said...

I really appreciate the effort you took to post this, Charlie. Nice to see an update from you despite all the crap. No worries about blog reading or commenting! We all understand! Take care.

Wandering Coyote said...

Hmmm...Disqus seems to have a bug or two...Sorry for the earlier double comment.

lisleman said...

thanks for the post and the music
wishing you the best

barbara said...

I'm really sorry to hear about your failing eyesight, Charlie. It's such a frightening thing.

If it helps, we can all yell our posts really loud at you!

Meg said...

Very sad news. I hope you'll find a way to continue to doing what you love.

Tiffin said...

I love that song. Thanks, sweet friend. You can be in the chestnut trees in my back yard any time you want.

Kim said...

Love you Charlie ... take care of yourself

Charlie Callahan said...

Stasia! What a nice surprise to (kind of) see you here!

unknownmami said...

So sorry. Ironically, I use prednisone eye drops for my eye issues (iritis). They help with the iritis, but the raise my eye pressure too much. It sucks.

Thinking of you.

M Witzl said...

Forget the blogs, but definitely get audio books, Charlie!

I wish doctors knew how to fix optic nerves. And what Robert said.

Kim Ayres said...

I guess that's why you've not replied to my email. Although I still won't know if you like the idea or are offended until someone reads your emails to you. Or this comment, come to think about it...

Cyndi said...

Well, I had to chuckle a bit at this, Charlie. Not making light of the situation, or anything like that, but the image on the right is what BOTH of my eyes look like. I was born that way. I do this dance every year when I go to the eye doc: I am looking to hear two words: "No change". I am blind in one eye and am told that my other eye could go, literally, at any time. Hmmm. Funny how I've dedicated my life to being a visual artist. Ah, well. It just is another excuse to savor every moment and know that none of us knows what life will truly bring. None of us knows our expiration date. For some reason, in my 30s, I think about this more than at any other point in my life. Perhaps it's the result of growing up in a nursing home. To that end, hang in there. Savor every moment. Taste the sweetness or the sheer bitterness, but taste. Hear the melodies or the cacophony. Feel the rush or the doldrums. See the beauty and improve what might be ugly...or not. Smell the flowers and hopefully not too much pollen. :)