Macular Degeneration is caused by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, the inside back layer of the eye that records the images we see and sends them via the optic nerve from the eye to the brain. The retina’s central portion, known as the macula, is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye, and it controls our ability to read, drive a car, recognize faces or colors, and see objects in fine detail. (AMDF),
This Saturday early in the morning I had a client to train. The personal training gym I use is about a 20 minute walk from my home, a straight shot walking west on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. The Avenue used to be filled with Mom and Pop stores, but with the gentrification, greed and gluttony LA has discovered, the Mom and Pop Stores have all been replaced with designer clothing shops, 5 star eateries, and of course coffee and tea boutiques. The part of Melrose Avenue I take, that leads to my gym is such a to be seen place, that most often I have to pass groups of paparazzi waiting for some star to emerge carrying a $10,000 handbag or at least a $20 Protein Shake. I was kind of happy, however, walking to the gym bright and early this Saturday, both because, the temperature, was in the 60’s (a touch of Pittsburgh fall), and usually Melrose is an empty void of annoying people avenue. I had forgotten that there was one Chi-Chi-Coffee Boutique open early in the morning. One out of a dozen, I was certain no movie stars, no wanna be’s and no me first’s would darken my path to get to the gym.
There is a major boulevard running horizontal to Melrose Avenue, called San Vicente. Even in the early dawn, cars speed down the boulevard trying to avoid stopping for the red light and those darn stragglers trying to cross on a yellow light. As I was approaching San Vicente I noticed two younger people walking toward me. One was on the phone, the other texting, with holding large cups of coffee from the Chi-Chi Coffee Boutique. Being in a good mood, I decided rather then NOT move out of their way, and NOT give them my patented passive aggressive sigh, I would, feeling good, MOVE out of their way. It was then, that I also noticed an individual appearing from seemingly nowhere carrying two large trash bags, trying to maneuver a rolling suitcase, and holding onto what seemed to be a few pieces of clothing. This person definitely wanted to cross San Vicente before the light changed and before anyone was speeding down the boulevard.
And that is when the person texting walked into the trash bags, causing her to lose her grip on her cup of coffee. The guy on the phone just side stepped the person carrying the trash bags, but in doing so pushed his friend causing him to drop his phone and cup of coffee. The woman began to freak out, calling the individual with the trash bags a bitch, and useless. She then demanded that he individual with the trash bags and the suitcase and the handful of clothing pay for her and her friends cup of coffee. Feeling I needed to step in, now losing my sense of all is well with the world, I began to approach the scene of the coffee wars. The guy, noticing that I and a few other people were becoming alarmed at the screeching and foul language erupting from his friend. Grabbed the fallen phone, tugged his friend, actually yanked her and started telling her they were going across the street to get more coffee. As another woman and I approached the individual carrying the trash bags, trying to at least apologize for the behavior of these two assholes. The individual looked at the other woman and I and hissed. He then said, don’t touch me, I am not an animal. He gathered all of his stuff and crossed the street, on the red light. Macular Degeneration sometimes what we see, is really not there, or sometimes what we see is right in front of our faces, but we don’t know it.
