I should get a job as a professional worrier. People can tell me what they’re worried about, and I can worry for them. Actually, I would be dead in a year if I did this because the stress would kill me. But I do have a very empathetic strong side, one with boundaries, this being for my sense of self preservation.

Right now, at this very minute, I am worrying about Pete. He is most likely in the examining room of the Wolf Eye Care Center, having his left eye examined. He says that he’s been seeing flashes and that his eye feels funny. He attempted to self-diagnose, and in this way reassure himself that everything was okay – I told him, and he agreed, he needed to get this checked out asap.

Pete checking out the map on last summer's trip

We are fortunate in that we are long time patients of Dr. Evan Wolf, who is a very competent and experienced ophthalmologist and surgeon. He’s the one who I had do my cataract surgery. I was so relaxed that when he did what he did so well, I was talking with him as he did the procedure.

Dr. Wolf turned out to also be a very ambitious individual. The Wolf Eye Center is now a huge facility that serves area patient’s complete visual needs. It’s also rather unique in that the artwork is wolf related. He even has a small children’s area, where there is a mural with wild animals, going about their business and wearing spectacles.

We generally have our exams there and get our glasses at the Palmer Vision Center in town. The Palmer Vision Center is much smaller and far more low-key, making it easier to select eyewear. I don’t foresee that the PVC will be around that much longer because the building boom that’s going on in Palmer right now is making the place near inaccessible. In contrast, The Wolf Eye Center is located right off the Parks Highway, a main thoroughfare. And it is readily accessible.

So there sits Pete, in a darkened room, waiting to meet with Dr. Wolf. He does not scare easily, but I bet that right now he is scared shitless. I would be. The prospect of having a tooth pulled pales in comparison to this. You can get by without one or several teeth. You can’t get by without your sight. If worse came to worse, and both eyes were affected, he would need to get a Seeing Eye dog. Ryder would not be a good candidate for the job because as soon as she saw Squirrelly Whirly, she’d be off.

My propensity to worry complements my imagination. Some would say that it is overactive. I don’t agree. Rather, I think that it’s highly developed. I just need to rein it in sometimes and send it in differing, more productive directions. Alas, my imagination is very unwilful and wants to do as it chooses.

I was reminded this morning, as Pete headed out the door, that we are pulling the same cart. And so, if need be, I will have to lean into the traces a bit harder, and assist him in getting through this.

Next: 254. 9/14/19: A Conversation with Ranger and Stormy