I can’t remember the last time I could read the fine print without some kind of aid; perhaps in my youth before my eyesight began to fade. But over the years I’ve come to realize that EVERYTHING has teeny tiny writing too small for my eyes.
The dosage instructions on a box of drugs is in a font size I totally begrudge. But it’s okay because surely the tightly folded insert within will have larger lettering that won’t be so thin (not).
There are all those Amazon boxes that hold the orders I placed at 2 in the morning when my sleep had escaped. With bated breath I open them up having forgotten, “Some assembly required. Just follow these twelve easy steps.” The first step I take is in search of the magnifying glass. The last time I used it was for another fine print task. Sure enough there it is shoved in a drawer all scratched and cloudy…what more could I ask? Never quite recalling just how to use it, I begin moving it in and out, up close to the print and back still in doubt. In sheer frustration and so, so tired of having to squint I throw up my hands still not being able to read the microscopic print.
“Ah Ha!” A light bulb turns on! (Not really and it wouldn’t have helped even if it truly had.) I recall having this well-lit gizmo, about 5 X 7 inches in size, stashed away should this occasion arise. As seen on TV it makes the claim to enlarge small letters so you can read them better. It’s equipped with a light that encircles the rim but much like my eyesight it has grown very dim.
And as age would have it this same malady has my husband’s sight not quite right. I have to laugh when he comes into the kitchen, the magnifier in hand. “Can you help me read the model number on the back of this ceiling fan?” Of course, we have learned the old iPhone trick…simply take a picture of it! Blow it up and not only letters but numbers as well come into focus, clear as a bell.
However, it isn’t just the minute print we are having an issue with. Even ‘Times New Roman,’ in a size 12, deals us a fit. This becomes a problem when it is found typed in black ink on a dark blue background! The publishers are so short sighted (pun intended) when printing this way no matter if the reader is young or turning gray. I take solace in this but it doesn’t help me see the words on the paper which is what I need. You’d think my new bifocals would be of some help. After all I could read the big E on the chart all by myself.
To have the eyes of a hawk sure would be nice.
I could read anything written without blinking twice.
My vision would be a picture-perfect fit!
Well I guess that’s one way you could look at it!
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