Monday, October 2, 2017

Cranky Shelley, Justified!

Recently I had two instances where I needed a magnifying glass - what I wanted to see was so tiny that reading glasses didn't help.  One item was a very old penny that I came across - it was dirty and really worn down, so even after I cleaned it, I still couldn't read the date stamped on it.  You might think I'm kidding, but I had to break out my DSLR camera to take a close up so I could upload the picture on my computer and enlarge it:
 It's a 1946 penny!

I'm not trying to be Harriet the Spy, I just want to be able to read some teeny tiny print.  So I went looking on Amazon for a magnifying glass, where I was almost instantly insulted when I read the product description:

HELP YOUR GRANDPARENTS - Imagine the look on their faces - your elderly loved ones will praise you with thanks when you gift them this set of magnifying lenses. We receive constant great feedback from our elderly friends who are over the moon with how this improves their day to day lives.

Come ON, seriously??  I remember using a magnifying glass as a child - when did these become marketed for the elderly?  And for crying out loud, just because you're a grandparent doesn't mean you are elderly!  Not only would I never call my parents, who are, indeed, grandparents, elderly - I also wouldn't have referred to my grandmother as elderly, and she was in her nineties when she died.  

Elderly, hmpf.  Either I'm way off base with my indignation, or these companies need to hire someone over 30 to write their ad copy; I'm going with the latter, obviously.  I mean, if you want to identify yourself as elderly, then have at it, but to me, that conjures up an image that I am not - frail, weak, and yes, old. 

 This is all I wanted to do - why did it have to be so difficult? 

We finally bought a magnifying glass at our local Harbor Freight - it's not great, but it's what we could find in town...and there was no label of "elderly" anywhere on the package, either - hmpf!

15 comments:

  1. Did you know that there's an app for that? I know this because my husband downloaded a magnifying app because he gets super cranky when there's teeny tiny writing on anything. And it really works too! Just fyi. :)

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    1. Really, there's an app for that?? I have to investigate...that would be very cool to have. Thanks!

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  2. You crack me up at what offends you. My dad had all kinds of magnifying glasses (because he could barely see) but most of them I thought didn't work that well...Maybe you have to be elderly to appreciate how a magnifying glass works???

    I used to have THE. BEST. VISION. ever. I could see tiny things no one else could see. I could see street signs from a mile away. Now I am astounded at what I CAN'T see without my glasses. And even with my glasses, I usually say that a street sign has the right number of letters, that's probably the street... Of course, thank goodness for the lady in the phone screaming turn left in 500 feet, turn left in 50 feet, MAKE A U-TURN....

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  3. My mom actually bought a magnifying glass a few years ago and she is far from elderly! Hmm, I see a good invention for us. Let's make stylish magnifying glasses and label them "for people who want to be in the know"! (I just got done teaching an entrepreneur class so I guess my brain is on that wavelength now..haha)

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  4. I asked for, and received, a magnifying glass as a stocking stuffer last Christmas. I also have one in a drawer at my office. My poor eyesight is the bane of my existence!

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  5. I too curse at tiny print! Yet so far I'm getting by with contacts corrected so that one eye can't see sh**t in the distance, but can see up close. However, it's great to hear "there's an app for that!" 'Cause soon I'm gonna need one!

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  6. Sadly, I could be a grandparent very easily at this age--not ready at all. But I'd proudly use a magnifying glass.

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  7. Oh no! What a terrible description! Glad you were able to find one that works! :)

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  8. It's like that ad I posted with the 40-year-old woman going back to school who was in her 80s. Stop letting 20 year olds write copy. I need my readers much more now. I have to wear them playing guitar to focus on my left hand and the strings. eeek!

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  9. Well I thank you for the laugh. Even the way it's written is so patronizing, as though "grandparents" can't even shop for themselves. !!? Apparently bc their eyesight is so terrible. Land sakes, oh my stars, and good gracious. !
    Chrissy

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