My eyes did something weird today. The day after my cataract surgery I could use my computer without glasses. The next day I couldn’t and I bought a pair of drug store reading glasses and have been using them for two weeks. Today when I got on my computer I struggled to read. I was upset that my vision deteriorated overnight. I figured I might have to buy a stronger prescription. Just now I got up and went to the bathroom. I don’t wear the reading glasses when I’m walking around. When I came back to the computer I picked up the computer before putting my glasses on and a miracle occurred. My vision didn’t deteriorate, it improved. I can read without glasses! This is why they wait till after you stop taking eye drops before sending you to an optometrist to get prescription reading glasses. Now the question is raised once again if I should get an eye patch. I see much better if I close the eye that still has a cataract. I’d only be using it until March 4 when my right eye is operated on.
I thought I’d be racing off to my therapist today but she called me to cancel, she has a cold. She blames me as I had one when I visited her last week. What’s funny is she then added, “you know I’m kidding.” I make jokes like that all the time to her and she let her professional guard down then had second thoughts. I’m a weird psych case as I present as mentally healthy, until I don’t. Maybe not weird. I know lots of people with issues that I am only aware of because they told me.
For the first time since I’ve been blogging I’m in a dry spell. No, that’s not true; it’s not the first time, but it is rare. My mind is in constant churn. I always have something to say. My problem is that of late I think it’s wiser to not write what I’m thinking.
I’m not going to drive myself nuts on a day when I’m missing therapy. If this is all I have to write, it’s all I have to write.
I wrote that and got a call from Dan. We talked for an hour and then I had to put in eye drops and eat. We went past our usual conversation, insulting each other’s taste in music. It started normal enough, I told him that I’ve never seen him clearly so I picture him looking like an Ent. This led to discussing Elven language, their similarity to Finnish, and to Peter the Great conquering the Finish heartland because he wanted Russia to be more European. What is now St. Petersburg was one Finland. The area around it is where the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala is set. People have been displacing people since before history, just ask any Neanderthal you meet.
Dan asked me how I know so much. One thing I don’t know is the answer to that question. I don’t know how to avoid knowing things. As you know I don’t have an exceptional memory but I do know more than most people That’s how I won at jeopardy. My 11th grade American History teacher called me a trashcan of facts. My answer since first grade is that I simply enjoy knowing things more than most people. I was one of those kids that sat and read the dictionary, almanac, Atlas, and Encyclopedia Britannica. I had the 1959 edition and would often grab a volume at random and open at random then flip pages till I found something that intrigued me.
I love obnoxious pedantry. I try to use the proper Latin and Greek plurals. If you have more than one stadium, you have stadia. All Cs in Latin are hard so Caesar is pronounced Kaiser. The Germans got that one right. I don’t say that out loud but I always think it. I brought up to Dan that Cyclops is pronounced Kyklops. The original Greek is spelled with kappas. Dan pointed out that Kyklops is what anti-Semites call one-eyed giants. Think about it.
You might have noticed that I always ask people about their professions and their passions. I had a college roommate who was a total stoner but he bought and sold guitars, so that’s what I talked to him about. That’s where I learned half of what I know. I sometimes have to watch myself. If someone is ill I always want to know details. I have to remember that other people think that’s personal. Some people love that they can tell me. Others want to avoid discussing the medical problems.
In college I asked my friend what polymath meant. She said, “someone like you.” I love the irony of that. She also taught me lots about fashion, art, painting and drawing. Favorite fact I learned from her; puce is the color of a flea’s belly. I am incapable of forgetting that. I might not remember the names of friends but that I will always know.
Being a polymath is part of my identity. Sometimes I’m uncomfortable with it. Once in grade school a classmate didn’t believe something and the teacher asked me to confirm it as I was an authority the student would respect. People think that I think I’m always right. I know very well I’m not. I just checked online to see if the puce fact was true. It is, though the source I found just mentioned the flea, not the belly. But the red comes from the blood sucked and that’s in the belly. The only time I’m always right is when I disagree with Dan or Lena. They are always wrong so don’t accept that.
Tonight I’m off to see the marvelous Joe Crookston. I’m seeing him tomorrow too. I can’t get too much Joe. I know what I’ll be writing about the next few days.
Wise Madness 