I Just Can't See It....

I have a funny story I must share with you. It's one of those stories that even though it is about a serious subject, you can't help but smile and shake your head.
Recently I went for my tri-annual eye exam. (Yes, I usually wait until I can't see if the light is red or green before I make an appointment). 

You need to know that I am in the VA health system and I get my medical care at the VA hospital in Bay Pines, Florida. So I made my appointment and arrived on time. As usual, I didn't have to wait long before I was called back for my eye exam. I was seen by a wonderful doctor. She was probably gave me the most thorough eye exam I ever had. 

My prescription had indeed changed and I was given a new, stronger prescription. As everyone knows that has ever had an eye exam, you get your eyes dilated during the exam and when you leave your eyes are still very dilated. So much so that you need to wear sunglasses to shield the brightness outside.

Of course I never thought ahead and did not take a pair of sunglasses with me. As I was about to leave the doctor asked if I had any and after I said I did not she reached into a drawer and handed me a pair of thin plastic sunglasses. The were very large, almost like the size you see older people wearing in Florida. They made me think of them as disposable glasses. But they worked. They helped shield me from the Florida sun since my pupils were the size of a quarter.

As I unfolded them and started to put them on I looked at the earpiece and saw something that made me shake my head in disbelief. "Made in China" was printed right on the ear piece! Yep. The United States Veterans Administration oversees the health and care of all of our nation's veterans and after getting your eyes examined you are given a pair of sunglasses that are made in China! Not in the U.S. Not in any city in our country. 

I found that to be ironic and funny at first. But the more I thought about it the more I serious I got. I now most of the things we are forced to buy in this country come from other countries other than our own. I do not like that. I hate that. I have no control over that. Except I still try to buy things that are made in the USA, even though it is difficult at times.

But what bothers me about this is that this is a government agency that you would connect with our military. And then they give you a product that was not even made in our own country. Sad. We can not find any manufacturer in the US that can make a cheap pair of sunglasses that are going to be given to our veterans? And since it is paid for with part of my tax dollars, I don't even care if the cost was higher. Pay it! And product that is doled out by any federal agency should be made in America. Period. No question about it. All of a sudden it's not a funny story anymore....