Tender Mercy and the Loose Screw

    Eyeglasses are as much a part of me as the eyes they assist.  Only recently have I been able to remove them and be satisfied with the vision I have, thanks to cataract surgery and a little correction within. 

     The more frequent removal may have something to do with this story, for perhaps the more constant change in pressure on the joints of the glasses caused a reaction. I have never had much problem with my glasses over my life, other than the breaking of older frames, or their slipping down my nose. I was not aware of things that could go wrong.   It was liberating to find joints on frames that were flexible, yet would hug my face firmly. That is  my priority when shopping for frames.

     Recently, over the past six months, I have thought these temple pieces were getting a little loose, but nothing seemed to be a problem.  One day as we were ready to leave the apartment, my lens fell out onto the table.  I was able to snap it back in, and with the "snap" I thought everything was purely accident.  A month ago it fell out again, and I couldn't make it stay in. There was no "snap".  Jay put it in and said, "Be careful." Last week I went to get my glasses and found them on the table with the lens lying beside the frame.  After trying half a dozen times unsuccessfully to correct the problem, I sat down to closely inspect them. I discovered that the screw that connects the lower part of the frame to the upper part, hence securing the lens, had come apart.  I quickly found a screw driver small enough, tightened all the loose screwS, and realized my tender mercy. 

     The tender mercy of all this, is that the screw was still there, that the final breaking point was safely in our apartment, on the table.  In all the walking and bus travel, and touring we had done in those six months, all the removing and putting on occasions, and the manipulations to replace the lens, that screw was STILL THERE!  Even in the apartment, it happened while LYING ON THE TABLE! Anywhere else but there would have been bad news.