Living in Oklahoma with Glaucoma

June 6. 2025

      I had to go to Lowe’s to pick up a few items for my backyard. I love the backyard of our new house. Well, actually, I miss the backyard of my old house where we lived in Charlotte. Our house was in a perfect location. We were about 4 doors down from a cul-de-sac. We had little if no traffic on our street. Wendy and I raised both of our two children on that street. When we bought the house, the street was a new extension of an old neighborhood. All of us who lived there knew each other. I was and still is a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. Our backyard faced a high configuration of trees. When you sat outside, it gave you the feeling that you were in the woods. Over the years, this would be my place of solitude. I would eventually add a gazebo, bird feeders, outdoor furniture, a garden, and a mobile storage shed. There is one thing that only a few of my close friends know about me. I am an avid bird watcher.

     I set up 5 bird feeders, and I would watch them from my kitchen window, drinking my morning coffee. I loved it!

     Well, life here in Oklahoma would be no different. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I was at my local Lowe’s store to buy supplies for my backyard. While standing in the checkout line, this elderly woman turned around and started a conversation with me. She shared her love for daisies and how much work she had ahead of her today. I was taken in by her congenial demeanor and friendly nature. She told me her name was ‘Jerry’ and she shared how she loved riding on the back of her husband’s motorcycle on sunny days. Wow, the conversation was simple, but our engagement with one another was so honest and natural. I soon made it to the cashier to pay for my things and was making my way out to my car when I stopped again.

      A man named ‘Scott’ stopped me, and we were engaged in a meaningful conversation, too. He was a grandfather like me, and we both laughed at the antics of our grandchildren together. The conversation in the parking lot of Lowe’s was only a few minutes long, but the fact that these random people made a decision to engage with me really made my day. Sometimes I can’t help but ask myself. Why is there so much conflict in the world today? Is life really that hard?