I had booked a bus ride four days before my annual eye appointment, having been warned not to drive after my eyes were dilated. The bus rule is to be ready 1.5 hours before the appointment. There I sat beside the living room window at 11:30, waiting for the ride to my 1:00 appointment. My coat and pocketbook were on the sofa with me. At 12:30 I called the dispatcher, knowing it would take at least 20 minutes to get to the office on the other side of Waynesville. He reassured me that the bus was on its way. He gave me the location, which was only halfway here from the town.

I was outside waiting as the bus hesitated at my drive. S-l-o-w-l-y it backed up, and the door opened. I scrambled on, greeted the driver, paid my fare, and was buckled in a jiffy. He crossed something off on a piece of paper, shuffled the papers, shuffled them again, clipped them on a board, checked a tablet, and finally put the vehicle in gear. He inched out of the drive and ambled along the road. At the highway, he let every car in sight go by before pulling out. I resisted the urge to look at the time on my phone, knowing nothing was going to hurry that man.

He pulled in past the office and insisted on backing up to get me close to the door. Such consideration I could have done without! Peeking at my phone at the door of the office, I saw it was 1:00, time for my appointment. Whew! At least I wasn’t late!

From then on, the news was good. The good eye had stayed the same, and the degenerated one was five feet better than last year. Left – 20/20 and right – 20/25. Dr. G. said I needn’t bother wearing glasses for distance. She agreed with me that turning last year’s glasses into readers would be a good idea. I’m to go to the other office where they have the equipment to change the lenses fairly quickly, using my present frames.

I had to wait quite a while to be picked up, but officially I was on the way home. A young woman was driving, and a man was already on the bus. As we drove toward his home in Maggie Valley, word came that there had been a serious accident on the highway to my house. The emergency was over by the time we got there, but it was a sobering sight. A couple of official trucks were on the other side of the highway with flashing lights, guiding cars past a small car. It was upside down with the roof caved in. I doubt the driver survived.

I was thankful to get home where everything was peaceful and quiet. I’d gotten a hamburger out of the freezer before I left. It was the last one I grilled outside before Thanksgiving. It tasted so good, paired with green beans, sauced and topped with French fried onions. Yes, real comfort food when I needed it!