Contacts Counsel

     Perhaps there's nothing quite so unfair as being the younger brother.  The older one gets all the good stuff first.  So it came as no surprise that as soon as Rob got contact lenses, Jesse wanted them too.
     Jesse was only ten-years-old at the time, and I told him he had to ask our eye doctor himself.  I made an appointment for us to get his eyes checked, and after the usual tests, Dr. V sat down to talk to us.
     Jesse got right to the point. "I want contact lenses like my brother," he told her.
     "There are a lot of reasons to wait till you are older," she said.  "You have to be very careful about your hygiene when you are putting your fingers in your eyes."
     "I'm much cleaner than my brother," Jesse assured her.
     "You also have to be very responsible," said Dr. V, because you have to take the lenses out every night and soak them in a special solution."
     Jesse nodded his head and reached into the pocket of his blue jeans.  He pulled out a three-inch square of paper which he unfolded and unfolded into a 8 1/2 x 11" certificate.
     "I was Student of the Month last month at my school," he told her.  "Here, look, it says that I showed great responsibility."
     Dr. V studied the certificate and tried to suppress her smile. "Well," she said to Jesse, "I've never  had a patient bring in evidence before."  She shot me a look that said I see you've got your hands full.
"I'll have to do another test on your eyes to see if they can adjust to the lenses," she said.  "I'm not sure you will be able to get contacts now, but I am sure, quite sure in fact, that one day you will be an excellent lawyer."