A View From 1974
Karen, Al, and Van Landry in March 1974. We took this ‘before’ picture with glasses to commemorate the time that we got our first pair of contact lenses. I promised them back then that I’d post the photo on my blog for the 50th anniversary. This photo is such bad quality, but it is the only one from this important life event.
I have planned on writing about this 50-year anniversary for a few years now. I’ve been waiting anxiously to be able to write about this topic. You would think that I would have thought about some really interesting things to say about it, perhaps in relation to family history. That is the main topic of my blogs, if you haven’t noticed. But I’m sticking with this story that I’ve planned on. My main problem is usually that I haven’t thought of or planned on a topic for the week. So I have to follow through with my years-long planning.
Here is the important announcement: Today completes 50 years of wearing contact lenses. My first pair of contact lenses were first worn on March 8, 1974, and I have been wearing them ever since. Not the same pair, of course. I’ve had about seven or eight pairs. I’ve gone without them for a few days here and there, but I’m a consistent contacts-wearer.
Of course I was 13 years old at the time, so I didn’t just go drive and pick them up myself. It was a family event. See, it is family related! In early 1974 there were three Landry family members who wore glasses – Karen, Al, and me. Karen and Al had been wearing them longer than I had. I had only worn glasses for two years.
Van and Karen on the left, and Al on the far right. This photo was taken at Astroworld on July 24, 1974, which was Al’s 15th birthday. Note that the glasses are no longer in use. The best ‘after’ picture I could find.
My parents didn’t have a lot of extra money back at that point. This was before we made the big bucks (not!) at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor as the Landry Family Band. But there was a Texas State Optical store in Orange, Texas, and that business had a good deal on contact lenses. My parents decided that all three of us would get contact lenses. Early one Saturday morning, the family got in the car and headed west to Orange. This is terrible, but I can’t remember exactly who went with the three of us. Was it Mama or Daddy? Did Jamie come along with us? I just can’t remember. Sorry, Jamie, if you were there and I forgot.
What I remember is the sun coming into the car and coming over our shoulders as we heard the song “Sunshine on My Shoulders” by John Denver. We made a big deal of that. Then we stopped at some gas station store and bought popcorn that was “Popped Fresh!” We joked about it being “popped fresh” five days ago. We thought we were so clever. When we were at TSO, we joked about how the doctor there told us how to rinse the contacts. He pronounced the word rinse like the word wrench. We’ve laughed about that for years.
I remember reminiscing about that day through the years, but it was usually with Karen. But Karen is not with us any longer to reminisce with. This made me think of her a bit more this week. She passed away on April 8, 2020, from Multiple Systems Atrophy at the age of 63 years, 4 months, and 6 days. (Not 5 months as I erroneously wrote last year!) When I was planning on writing this post, I realized that the 50th Anniversary of the Contacts (no I did not make a cake or have a party!) was falling at the same time as when I reach the age that Karen was when she died. So now I have outlived both of my ‘older’ sisters. I’ve actually lived longer than all three of my sisters. But with Jamie, it’s just that I was born before her. I hope she outlives me.
The other thing I remember about that long ago day in March was that I could see so much more clearly. The pink azaleas were in bloom at the time, and they were so pretty in front of all the houses along North Cutting in my hometown of Jennings, Louisiana. They are not quite in full bloom yet this year. But it won’t be long. You’ll see. I will, too… with the help of my contacts!