My excuse for not replacing my glasses with contact lenses, or undergoing laser treatment, has always been some lame remark about needing the specs as a prop. Andrew Stuart, British Governor of Vanuatu in the early eighties, put his need for glasses to a different use:
Stuart wrought his final act of diplomacy, and triumph over his French rival, by removing his glasses when faced with a letter from Father Lini (also sent to Robert) which ordered the expulsion of both French and British forces. Stuart was thus able, while apparently still ignorant of the letter’s contents, later to offer the transitional services of the Marines to the new state, which Lini accepted.