A tall, slender, elegant black man walks on stage with a white cane and guided by his daughter. His eyes are covered by large, dark glasses. Clearly he is blind. He states his name Robert Finley and his age, 65, and proceeds to sing an original. Soul oozed out of every pore in his body as he sang his song. For me, the judges and audience, he was riveting.

Not only was he impressive but so was his story - a son of a sharecropper in Louisiana, a cotton picker as a child who didn’t go to school, a Viet Nam war veteran and a man struggling to support a family. He said glaucoma caused his blindness. This struck a chord.

Having recently been to an ophthalmologist to thoroughly examine my eyes, I know that, “In general, glaucoma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. Eye drops, pills, laser procedures, and surgical operations are used to prevent or slow further damage from occurring. With any type of glaucoma, regular eye examinations are very important to detect progression and to prevent vision loss.”

Who knows what care he has gotten at his VA center. I’ve heard it can be spotty. In my opinion, he’s too young to be blind and, most likely, has not had access to and opportunity for the good health care that I have.

Again the question, is quality health care a right or a privilege?