Sunglasses Day: Two Things I Wish Everyone Knew at 25
Most people treat sunglasses as a fashion accessory. I treated them as survival. When I was in the Army, long before sunrise, I walked straight into a pine tree at reveille. My eyes recovered, but I was left with lifelong photophobia — the kind that sends tears streaming down your face in bright light. Sunglasses became my shield. I wore them at noon, at twilight, on cloudy days. I thought I was just preventing the embarrassing tears. Decades later, at 75, my eye doctor told me something I wish I had known at 25: 1. Sunglasses protect your eyes far more than people realize. Not wearing them — especially in strong sun — does real, cumulative damage. A friend my age can barely see now; years of Hawaii sun without sunglasses took a toll. Meanwhile, I’ve lived under the nearly-as-bright California sun and still don’t need glasses at 76. Yes, I have good eye genes, but I also accidentally spent a lifetime shielding my eyes from UV exposure because of that old Army injury. What I thoug...