Husband and I were buying groceries when a magazine cover on display near the checkout gave me pause. It was a magazine tribute to Billy Graham. The way the magazine rack was designed made it look as though the Reverend Graham had payot, those locks of hair sported by Hasidic men near their ears. I had to look twice to convince myself I wasn’t seeing what I thought I was seeing. Whew! That would have really rocked my world had it been true!
I am the sort of person who sees fanciful designs and drawings in floor tiles. I like administering the Rorschach Inkblot Test because I like to hear all the interesting things people tell me they see. I know the person is in trouble when not even I can see what they see.
James Thurber writes about his poor vision and the interesting things he thought he saw, like an elderly admiral in dress uniform peddling a bicycle next to a vehicle Thurber was sitting in. The admiral wasn’t really there, of course. Thurber thought it was probably a billboard or starlight shining through the trees. He also writes of throwing stones at what he thought was a flock of white chickens that had invaded his neighbor’s vegetable garden, only to find they were newspapers placed on top of the plants as protection from frost.
I am going to pay more attention to the magazine racks next time I buy groceries. Who knows what I might see?
When have your eyes played tricks on you?
Trail Baboon 