The above line is from Mel Brooks, one of his many hysterical bits. It's used today because tomorrow I begin the first of two eye surgeries, which will slow the blogging down for a few days.

Ever seen any of those sight-impaired people walking up and down Penn Avenue near the Star building, being trained by someone from the School for the Blind on how to maneuver with a cane, etc? I have fresh empathy for those people. Perhaps some of them suffer from Fuchs Dystrophy, my particular ailment, which, when left untreated, can result in blisters on the cornea (ouch) and very bad vision.

As Guy used to say, anything named after a German is bad. Fortunately, as a younger friend says, we have so many advances today with eye ailments, including corneal transplants. Mine is being done by the esteemed Dr. Francis Price of the Price Institute. He runs a foundation for educating people around the globe about his techniques, which are remarkably trouble-free considering what they used to be like.

The absolutely worst-case scenario? As far as I can tell, it's rabies (from an infected cornea). So if I come back barking and foaming at the mouth, consider the source...