"You Big Dummy" and Sight Given To the Blind: A typical Chris weekend

I was scared as hell driving up Highway 13 Saturday morning. Cars that normally were in plain view all of a sudden became blurred dots whizzing by me, one of the rare times I can remember folks passing me in disgust with my speed. I was reduced to a senior citizen driver because my jacked up eyewear had finally given me the boot. Legally not allowed to drive without glasses, I was trying to get home to Wilmington to see about a temporary pair of glasses at this place on Market Street Mall called "Specs For less," where you could get eyeglasses at a third of the price and in less time than if you were to go to the optometrist.

Not that there's anything wrong with my optometrist. Black women age gracefully, as is the case with my eye doctor. She's gotta be in her mid 40s, but too fine for words. As the old saying goes, "Good Black don't crack." But a trip to her office would have to wait. I was greeted at the door by a petite, brunette white chick, who asked how could I be helped. I pulled out a destroyed frame, a cracked left lens, and said simply "I need help." To recap, my glasses between October and Friday went from working order to dead on arrival. In November one corner of the frame broke. In January, while leaving Howard University's Burr Gymnasium, the wind outside blew the left lens off and it cracked on the pavement. Finally, after trying to hold everything in place, the frame cracked althogether on Friday, and that's how I ended up at Specs for Less.

They were able to detect the prespcription through the lenses, I picked out a sensible frame and the girl told me they'd be ready in two hours. When I came back and put those glasses on, I felt free as a bird. No more embarrassing moments of holding my glasses together while taking notes in class, nor the lens falling out while I'm driving. I was at 20/20 vision again and it felt so good.

The other part of my weekend has been spent checking out the Sanford & Son Marathon on TVLand, and it was indeed time well-spent.

If anybody knows their TV, they know that Sanford & Son was about the irrascible old junkman, Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx) and his indifferent son, Lamont (Demond Wilson). Aside from Fred's disses toward his sister-in-law Esther (LaWanda Page), calling Lamont a "dummy," and threatening to "give you five of these," The greatest thing about that show was the theme song, which was written, produced, and performed by the great Quincy Jones. When I hear that music, it definitely makes me feel better about whatever may be going on in my life, and laughing at Fred, Lamont, Esther, Grady, et al, makes me forget my troubles altogether. One of the greatest shows ever to be put on television (hint: I'll be 25 in September, anyone who can get the six seasons on DVD for my birthday will forever be a friend.)