"My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle."
- Henny Youngman -
Thank you, Grandpa, for that pithy saying...
When I was a child, instead of training me for good vision, my parents and my culture applied the "crutch" of eyeglasses... But I'll save that rant as a story for another time.
Yesterday, I read an article by my friend 
Waiting For New Glasses So I Can Throw Away This Broken Pair
If you don't now, or never have worn eyeglasses, I'd encourage you to read her article—if only as a means of developing some compassion and sympathy for those of us who live with "less than perfect" eyesight every day.
The old saw goes "Girls seldom make passes at guys who wear glasses." However, the fancy frames and brand names available today, and the relentless image-oriented advertising by companies like Calvin Klein have put the lie to that saying. Just to list a few of the "frames of fame" touted by a major purveyor of eyeglasses:
When I walk into local optometrist shops, I'm blown away seeing walls covered with endless arrays of high-priced, high-fashion eyewear.
That's my typical reaction to the sticker shock when I see the price of a pair of glasses, even at "bargain stores" like Walmart.
I (so far) refuse to wear bifocals or graduated lenses, so I actually have three pairs of glasses - one I use for driving, one for "general use," and one for close-up or computer work.
And I have a "backup set" for all three.
Each complete set of three pairs of glasses cost me less than $30, delivered.
For the last five years, I have been buying my eyeglasses online. They are custom sized to fit my face, they match my prescription, and they arrive within two weeks of my order.
My secret is ZENNI OPTICAL ®, INC., where I can get a good pair of glasses—both frame and lens—for $7. Yes, that's right. That is not a typo... SEVEN DOLLARS.
The list price is $6.95 per pair.
For example, check out my computer/reading/near-field glasses.
They are very light weight, comfortable, and durable. I wear them pretty much all the time.
I bought my first set from Zenni five years ago, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still wearing them.
rather than going to see an optometrist for a fitting, I first bought four pair of glasses with lens strengths beginning at -1.25 and increasing by 1/4 diopter steps through 2.75. That made it easy for me to check my own vision and decide what the final prescription(s) ought to be.
I never buy the upgrades—partially because I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Mr. Frugal, and partly because I really don't consider them particularly useful.
Although I don't go for any of the "extras," they are available from Zenni as upgrades, and you can expect to pay premium prices.
I just get the least expensive frames and lenses. The "plain" lenses are made of very durable, scratch-resistant plastic with a great refractive index (i.e. they are thin and light).
Zenni even offers a free upgrade in some cases from 1.50 (standard refractive index) lenses to a 1.57 (mid-index) lens that has the added advantage of greater UV (ultraviolet) light filtering, as well as being slightly thinner and lighter.
There is even one very reasonable upgrade option to a 1.59 index polycarbonate lens that has superior impact resistance. However, for the cost of the upgrade, my personal tendency is to simply by a spare pair.
All of their lenses come with an anti-scratch hard coating.
Yes, indeed they are, at least on some available options.
These may be Zenni's "loss-leaders," but a frugal curmudgeon like myself can smell a loss leader miles away.
My computer/reading/near-field glasses are still $6.95.
My driving/movie-watching glasses are still $6.95.
Oops! They have raised the price on this fine pair of spring loaded stem eyeglasses—now a whopping $9.95—but I would buy them again even for three dollars more. They are sturdy and comfortable. No matter, I find that I tend to use this "middle" prescription less and less.
And so, my fellow blind Steemians:
And no, I have no affiliation with them... I'm just a happy customer.
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Thanks for your time and attention.
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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