I went to the eye doctor for my annual checkup the other day. He checked my eyes over and did the “is it better at 1 or 2, 3 or 4, 5 or 6?” test. I was there for contacts. He mentioned that I had a pretty bad astigmatism, which nobody has ever mentioned before. I usually get chided for wearing my disposable lenses too long, but who doesn’t? Anyways, the lenses he gave me felt a little funny. The doctor said that I just had to get used to wearing them and to let them adjust to the right position. He had me schedule a follow up.

It’s my opinion that follow ups, be it an eye doctor or a general doctor, are just a way to get me to pay an extra co-pay and pad their fat wallets. I tried these lenses for a week, but I couldn’t get past how uncomfortable they were. Looking closely at the lenses, I could see to slits in the sides of them. I supposed that was how they did their magic to correct the astigmatism.

If you wear contacts, you know how it feels when you rip a lens; that uncomfortable feeling that makes you want to itch your eyeball. That’s how I felt in these lenses. I tried them for a week, but they didn’t feel any better.

When I went back the following week, I told the doc that they still felt uncomfortable and that I couldn’t wear them for more than an hour at a time, a problem I’ve never had with other lenses. I’ve been wearing them since I was 12, so I consider myself an expert on contact lenses.

I pointed out to the doctor that they had slits in them, he said “no, they’re not slits they’re just lines. All contact lenses have lines”. This response pushed the “bullshit-o-meter” into the red zone. Call me paranoid, but I haven’t trusted eye doctors since once of them said that the little tube in the annoying glaucoma test wouldn’t actually touch my eye, but he still needed to numb it (not the annoying “puff” test, the other one that shoves a tube onto your cornea). Trust me, they were slits, and they were touching my eye, and they were annoying the hell out of me. It felt like I had to constantly adjust them and put drops in my eyes.

I eventually said that these wouldn’t do and got a set of regular lenses. These don’t work “as” well, but they’re good enough. It’s my feeling that he just tried to suggest these other lenses and astigmatisms because they were new, and they were not disposables, and I’m sure he gets a bigger cut from selling them. Maybe he gets a bigger “spiff” on them; to use entertainment store lingo. I’m not paranoid, honestly.

At least I have contacts and they work pretty well. I’m happy enough. I think I’m going to order a box of the regular lenses.

We had a good time this weekend. My mother watched Gavyn while me and Allie spent some quality time with Gage. We took him to Steak n’ Shake for dinner (which ironically has a “kids eat free” special on the weekend …. DING), and then took him to see his first movie at the theater. We saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was different than the book, but still had most of the essential ideas and scenes. I bought the book for Gage a while back and had been reading it to him.

We had a good time, and Gage was totally worn out from the experience. He enjoyed the personal attention, and the popcorn.

I recently had an outpatient test at our local hospital here in Cuyahoga Falls. A few weeks later, I received a letter in the mail thanking me for choosing “Western Reserve Hospital” for my test. I thought to myself “What the f--- is Western Reserve Hospital?”.

It turns out that Summa bought out the hospital. Their first act as new owners was to close down the Maternity Ward, at which both of my children were born. It was really nice and personal. If we have more children later, we’ll have to deliver them at Akron City or General. Their second act was to rename the hospital to “Western Reserve”. I was totally confused as to why they did this since the former Cuyahoga Falls Hospital is in the middle of Cuyahoga Falls and has little to do with Western flipping Reserve.

Low and behold, the answer came to me in this past Sunday’s paper. According to the Beacon, Summa plans to move the hospital to northern-Summit County off Route 8. What about Cuyahoga Falls? I like having a hospital down the street; I don’t want to have a fifteen minute drive to the nearest Emergency Room when my children need immediate care! What do you think they’re going to do to the current building when they move the place? They’re going to shut it the f down of course.

Shame on you Summa for deciding we’re not worth it to have a hospital nearby. Nobody cares about Cuyahoga Falls anymore, it adds to the perception that we’re the ugly step-child of Akron (no offense meant to ugly step children). We’re viewed negatively by other communities around us. I blame mayor Robart. I would like to know what the city officials think about it, and what they’re doing to try to keep Cuyahoga Falls Hospital open. If they can’t do the right thing on important issues like these, I think that it’s time for new leadership in our city.

What Summa has to say about it

Happy Birthday Gage …

Gage turns 3 today. I can’t believe he’s already three years old. It’s true that they grow up too fast. I look back on all the little baby pictures. He’s not my little baby any more, but he is my little boy. Back in college, I wondered if I would ever have children. Now, I’ve been blessed with two. I love being a father and its one of the decisions in my life that I would never take back.

There are a lot of things about Gage that I love. I love that he’s out of diapers (thank goodness ;-) ). I love the endearing ways he mispronounces some words (“Thanks you daddy”, “Increbables”, He calls Cameron “Camera”). I love watching him rock himself to sleep, and I love occasionally getting to recover him with blankets at night.

He’s a good boy and I thank God for him every day. I hope that I can continue to be a good father and that I raise him right.

This is Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio. He had a new financial plan that will cut funding to Ohio libraries, forcing many to close.

Say what you want about Governor Strickland’s tenure thus far as Governor of Ohio. I’m not happy with him. Our economy continues to degrade. Especially in Southern Ohio, the job market is pretty bad. One of his latest legislative attempts is his Balanced Budget Framework which calls for a 30% reduction in the Public Library Fund, which supports our State’s public libraries, making them some of the best in the country. This 30% cut comes at a critical time when public funds to libraries have already been cut 20%. This new change results in a 50% cut to public library funds for next year.

Your local public library is a great source for many things the community needs. In addition to providing books, videos, tapes, and audio books, the Library provides many other services that go less-noticed. In these tough economic times, your local library provides free public internet service, which is used by many for the purposes of Job Searching and Career Planning. Your local library also provides computer training, as well as community outreach activities and children’s activities (like story time and summer reading programs). The library’s role as a community education resource is undeniable.

Many libraries derive most or all of their funding from the Public Library Fund. Reductions in this fund by your state government will result in many public libraries closing. Those that do not close will be forced to reduce staff hours, cut new material purchases, and cut programs which benefit the community.

What can you do to help? You can contact your governor, senator, or representative. We don’t have time to use the mail, so phone or web is preferred. For contact information please visit saveohiolibraries.com.