THE LAND OF THANX
By The Old Geezer
Once upon a time, there was a young man by the name of Jason. Jason lived in a town called Small Town, born and raised there by loving parents and with two siblings much older than him. This young fellow had quite a few friends he grew up with and always spent many happy hours playing and studying together. This was all-good and well until his friends started playing sports and trying out for the school teams. The problem was that they all made the teams they wanted to play on, all except Jason. Although his friends felt sadness and some remorse at leaving Jason out of their latest ventures, they pursued their individual goals leaving little time for Jason.
Why Jason wanted to know could he not play on one of the school teams like everyone else. It was not that he could not play well enough at most if not all the sports. The coaches all told him so and they felt sorry that he would not be allowed to play sports for the school.
You see, Small Town was a small town even for the Land of Thanx. Although there were schools and although they had stores to supply the basic food and goods. they were still cut off from the big cities and metropolitan areas by the mountains around Small Town. Yes, there was medical clinic with a doctor of general medicine, but there were no doctors with any specialties. Town folks would have to travel many miles and take many days to obtain any specific medical care or procedures that might be warranted.
Jason’s problem was that he required special visual correction with eyeglasses that could not be supplied in Small Town and being that Jason’s family was poor there was no way for Jason to travel to the big city for the care he required. Jason was heartbroken not only that his lifelong friends were gone but that he could not play sports on a school team. When his teacher saw how sad and dejected he was, she decided to help Jason. After starting a go, fund me in the town of Small Town enough money was raised to send Jason to have the care needed and the eyeglasses made.
After returning home Jason did not want to play sports, he instead asked his teacher to get the books necessary to learn light and the human eye. This progressed into correcting lenses necessary for the visual correction of the defective vision.
Jason read and studied everything he could find about eyeglasses but still needed practical experience to finish his goal of meeting the visual needs of those in Small Town. Upon returning to the big city a few years later for a visual checkup and to have new eyeglasses fitted, Jason questioned the optician on how he could become an optician as well. The Optician told Jason he needed an apprentice and the job could be his with room and board as well.
After spending quite a few years leaning the profession, Jason returned to Small Town and opened a small optical shop. Now Jason found not only his old friends but also many new ones who were in need of eye care.
Jason was very successful in his profession of Ophthalmic Dispensing and was able to open many other optical stores in the Land of Thanx to the thanks of everyone living there. What more could one ask for then to be able to help others and have so many thanks from the Land of Thanx. Oh, by the way Jason got married settled into a nice home In the town of Small Town and raised his own children, one of which became an Ophthalmic Dispenser and started the first optical School in the Land of Thanx.
Post Script: I thought that maybe I would venture into a little story telling this time around and maybe you might enjoy it and see some of the similar things we went through. If so or not let me know, maybe I can improve the fable.
In OANY
The old Geezer