#willow lawn

Recent Acquisition - Ephemera Collection

I have been in need of a new pair of glasses for a while.  The only prescription frames I had for the past several months have been two pairs that I couldn't really wear, one pair of Fendi frames with rhinestones (uh, yeah) and one pair of fairly unisex ones that were half-broken.  So I was wearing a pair of browlines that just have regular glass in them for the past few months, since they were really masculine looking.  However, I couldn't read things very well and couldn't read street signs at night at all so I was waiting for a small windfall to get myself a nice pair of new glasses.

I wanted to get a pair of browline frames like I was wearing, but not a lot of places have that retro style, so I did a little research and identified that Pearle Vision has a pair that looked just like the ones I was wearing.  I assumed all Pearle Vision locations would have those frames, so I just called around until I found a location that would take a walk-in for an eye exam.  The Pearle Vision on Midlothian Turnpike had availability, so I went down there.

I filled out all my intake paperwork with my preferred name, since I figured I would pay with a card and she would never even see my legal name anywhere.  No issues there.  Then she conducted a basic eye exam, which went very quickly.  She never misgendered me.  During part of the exam, she assumed that I had never had glasses.  I corrected her, explaining that I had chosen not to wear my prescription glasses for the past several months because I needed a new pair.  She asked what was wrong with my old ones.  I said that all my old ones were "too girly" and I think at that point she ascertained what was going on with me.  But she didn't change any of her behavior.

The doctor side and the retail side are separate, so I had to pay after the eye exam was over to get my prescription, and then carry it to the other side to pick out frames.  When I went to pay, my card was declined.  I had just deposited a big check that had supposedly already cleared, but apparently it hadn't.  Luckily I had an old checkbook in the car, so I had a way to pay, but of course my checks have my legal name on them, and an old address.  So I was worried she might think the difference between the name and address I put on the intake and the name and address on my check, after my card was declined to boot, would make her suspicious of taking a check from me, but it didn't.  She seemed slightly wary, but after offering to show her my balance online, she just declined and took the check.  Thankfully.

I went over to the retail side and looked for the frames.  They didn't have them.  The guy working there asked me if he could help and after explaining what I was looking for he said they didn't have them.  I also believe he called me "ma'am" a couple times, which really pissed me off.  So I just left with my prescription.

After I left, I noticed that she had written the prescription to my preferred name.  I actually hadn't considered ahead of time that I might want it written to my legal name in case I needed to take the prescription elsewhere.  So then I was nervous about going somewhere else and having them give me a hard time about the name on the prescription.

Fast forward a couple days, after looking online I've figured out that Lenscrafters has Ray Bans and they are having a sale.  And they also still offer their fabrication-in-an-hour service on them, so I decide to go to the Lenscrafters of Willow Lawn.  My mom was with me that day.

I got a little misgendered here, too, but that was only because my mom referred to me as "she" or "her" a couple times, and they switched.  Then I told them it was fine to call me "he" and they looked really confused.  But they were totally pleasant, fine with putting my preferred name in the computer, friendly and helpful.  And they never gave me any hassle about the name on the prescription.  They were thorough in their explanations, and the glasses were done in an hour as promised.  

So I had some meetings in the Near West End today, and on my way home I wanted to drop into ROSS Dress For Less of Willow Lawn to score another pair of Calvin boxer briefs cheap since my dog chewed up my other pair about a month ago.  

No Calvins on the racks today.  Cologne selection pretty lacking too.  At least I found a decent jumprope for $3.

I did try on a pair of jeans, and the dressing room attendant directed me to the men's dressing room, so no misgendering there.  They didn't fit right.  That happens a lot.

Today we take another look at Willow Lawn Shopping Center. The first two images below are from the out of print book "Richmond: Her Triumphs, Tragedies & Growth." I'll be posting more from this book in the future. The first picture seems to be from the late 1950s judging by the cars. The aerial shot is probably from 1966, because the accompanying text mentions Willow Lawn's 10th anniversary, and because the Markel Building is there. I LOVE the original Willow Lawn sign, anyone know when it was replaced? The third picture is an architectural drawing of what Willow Lawn will look like next year, after the enclosed mall that was added in 1986 is torn down. Click the photos below for the larger images.