The man watched a local PBS
program on suicide and it’s

dramatic increase in recent
years. The guest, a woman in

her thirties, discussed her suicide
attempt of eight years ago. Her

eyes were vacant, distant as if
looking for something, some-

where before the attempt. Then
she said it. The attempt left her

permanently, totally blind. As she
said it, she chuckled but her chin

quivered. He, almost blind in one
eye, felt momentary relief, a

reprieve, one of those in-com-
parison-experiences, “See, I can

still see,” and then guilt at that
feeling and then as he stared

into her blind eyes, he saw that
she could see, perhaps, better

than he. He felt a tear run down
his cheek from his near-blind eye.