One is the loveliest number. It’s only a temporary fix, but thanks to the stellar diagnostic work of Dr. Leonard Savedoff, my double vision is now gone. Dr. Savedoff has written a new prescription for prism lenses. It will take a few weeks for the lenses to come in, but in the meantime, he applied a cling veneer with a grid pattern to the right lens of my progressive glasses and POOF—my double vision became single.

While walking back to the office, I tested my eyes and the results were conclusive. Looking at a streetlight, I saw ONE instead of TWO. Looking at a sign—ONE. Looking up at an American flag flying atop a downtown building—ONE.

But as I strode along the sidewalk, I thought about the bookworm played by Burgess Meredith in the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last.” He’s a bank teller who loves to read but never has the time. Then a nuclear explosion hits Earth, and it appears he is the only survivor. The teller finds the library and realizes he can now read all the books he wants and no one will bother him.

Photo of Burgess Meredith from The Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last”

But a tragedy befalls him when he drops his glasses and the lenses shatter—leaving him incapable of reading. So I must exercise caution, especially when walking on the icy sidewalk, to avoid the same fate, since my double vision returns the second I lift the modified glasses off my nose.