Sunday, July 10, 2011

It Didn’t Help But I Wish It Had Been Different

When I was a kid, watching our first color TV, I would usually sit closest so when the color would pop out, I was the one who would hit the side of the TV to bring it back.  Now I didn’t always know when it would pop out so David would get my attention (I’ll let you use your imagination as to how my one-year older brother did that).  I thought the color was funny too.  It looked fake and when it was just B&W, it looked normal to me.  I said so but I was usually laughed at.  I found out when I joined the AF, that I was considered color blind.  Actually I am color deficient.  I found out I didn’t have as many rods or cones as most folks.  This site shows how the test works http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp.  Now I can see the 25 but I don’t see any of the others.  When I was in line waiting for the test, I had no idea what I was being tested for.  I tried to see what everyone ahead of me was doing but standing around in your underwear doesn’t really lend to a lot of conversation.  When it was my turn the tester said “what’s that say?”  When I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, he flipped the card and asked again.  Now I at least knew what to look at but all I saw were a bunch of colored circles.  He flipped again and now I saw a number.  When he flipped again, no number.  He then told me that I was color blind and because of that didn’t qualify for certain jobs.  Even pumping gas!  (They color it you know.) 

Now I can see color, but certain colors under certain lighting conditions, are either light or dark, meaning they all look the same.  I guess that’s why my dark blue, black and green socks would get mixed up if I matched them and not my mom.  Now if I hold them under a lamp I would be ok but I didn’t know that for a lot of years.

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