Stories by Tony Bartelme

Seeing What's Important By Tony Bartelme Saturday, May 6, 2006 Arnold O'Neal is going blind. Right now, inside his eyes, cells are falling apart way too fast, clogging blood vessels that feed the photoreceptors, those tiny detectors on his retina that let him see the light on his wife's face. He figures he has a few years left before everything goes black. * * * When will we untie the dock lines? Arnold, 41, and Bobbi Jo, 36, couldn't seem to leave. Sure, they were committed to their plan — traveling for a year while Arnold still had some sight. They had bought a pokey 36-foot Gulfstar powerboat and named it Imagine. They had sold a car and held three yard sales to help pay for their voyage. They had become masters of eBay. But it was Arnold, the perfectionist, who kept delaying their departure. What about the hurricanes? What about the barnacles on the hull? Comfort can generate its own gravity, and Arnold and Bobbi Jo sometimes felt weighed do