Thanks, John. We've still got cassette players -- and I recently discovered I've got a Flashman book on tape. Not to mention all of our Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a bunch of Sherlock Holmes, Fourth Tower of Inverness, Moon Over Morocco, etc.

Alas, we live in the middle of the woods in New Hampshire, so free rides by governmental or volunteer agencies are few and far between. There are benefits to coming under the "legal" discription of blindness -- assistance (including property taxes) that can be applied for.

The impairment in one eye is probably permanent. The result of a stroke Tom didn't know he had. The other is caused by lack of blood to the eyes which could possibly be recovered with a carotid stent. Unfortunately, Tom's arteries are heavily calcified. He will be seeing a neurologist, though, and another vascular guy for a second opinion.

Linn