Legalize it

Difficult times. Just learned that this week I lost another chunk of my sight, the visual field test revealed that my peripheral vision is now all but gone and though my central vision is holding out, I can now be considered "Legally" blind. It was one of those days when I feel like I just won some fucked up lottery - my eyesight gets worse but now I am at least entitled to some help from the State.

In my heart I knew that I've been on the cusp of legal blindness for a while (in the USA this is when you have less than 20% of your eyesight left) but it was still saddening to have it confirmed. It seemed to hit home with my Wife Alma and her Friends more than it hit me - I'm in the exact same situation I was in on Wednesday (before the test) as I was on Thursday (after the test). Down the pub Thursday night involved a lot of symapathy (which I'm not ungrateful for) and promises of help (which I'm definitely not ungrateful for). We'll see what happens...

The day after I call the New York State Disabilities office to set the ball rolling on paperwork. The Woman who answers the phone at the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH) seems genuinely surprised to hear from a blind person and is extremely unhelpful. Isn't this a bit like being surprised that someone would ask you for a hamburger if you worked in McDonald's? If you work at CBVH then you'd better get used to the fact that most of the people who call are probably gonna be blind, damnit! I'm already dreading this process but it has to be done.

On a happier note, my friend Sean Byrne finally opened his own bar up in Hell's Kitchen. It's been a long time coming but Perdition is a really nice space and if you are in NYC get your ass over there. At 49th St and 10th Ave it's a spit from Times Square and a short walk from Port Authority Bus Station. It's got an excellent beer selection and Sean is still the best bartender in NYC.