dodging a dental bullet

 

                              

i've always hated the dentist.  i can't remember a time when i felt like things would be okay if i was in the dentist's chair.  last week, i broke a tooth.  i was chowing down on some sweetheart conversation hearts (75% off- mind you) & my tooth broke.  that tooth has a rather sizable filling in it & only the tooth was impacted- all of one side.  it didn't hurt.  i did behave like a responsible adult & called my dentist (it only took me 3 days) to see about setting up an appointment.  i was anticipating needing a crown.  lots of $$$$....

my dental experiences were somewhat intense early on for me.  i was a serious & committed thumb sucker- i can't remember how old i was when i finally stopped-  too old, i'm sure.  the lustiness with which i sucked my thumb was not only pushing my front upper teeth forward- it was somehow re-aligning my jaw so that my upper & lower teeth weren't meeting for the bite.  they thought they would have to break my jaw & reset it so it would be straight.  instead, they just removed a number of teeth & i started with a retainer when i was in 2nd or 3rd grade.

our dentist was hilt romney, dds.  he was a neighbor from our first house in vienna & my brother, sister & i all hated him.  we were very vocal about our dislike for him-  mom wasn't convinced.  my sister was smart- she bit him several times & finally he told mom she needed to go to a pediatric dentist.  good thinking, kathy.  i wish i'd thought of that.  not only did you get to see a different dentist; you also had the satisfaction of inflicting pain on hilt.  mom wasn't happy; however, the pediatric dentist was quite a bit more moolah.

                                       

hilt had all the classic attributes of a geek.  he wore those black horn-rimmed glasses so popular with the nerds in the 1960's.  he had the whitest, palest skin i think i've ever seen.  a long face with thin lips & a most unattractive nose, as i recall.  & he had talk radio playing in his office-  WTOP in washington.  what i remember is paul harvey- "now for the rest of the story...."  some may be too young to remember paul harvey (he was a commentator & news broadcaster for the ABC radio network).  he has a very distinctive voice that lends a solemn & serious aura to anything he says.   he always told these goofy stories that had a little twist to them at the end, when you got the rest of the story.  in order to get the rest of the story, you had to listen to him for about 30 minutes before he would share "the rest of the story."  paul harvey is still broadcasting to this day.  i can't hear his voice without cringing.  visions of hilt come alive & all that is associated with dentistry float into my consciousness- all i want to do is get far, far away.  i don't want anyone near my mouth- i don't care how much it hurts.....  

hilt would do things like numb the wrong side of my mouth when i was getting a filling-  he seemed to slip a lot when using tools in my mouth.  his attempts at talk & chatter were beyond banal.  i think he may have yelled at us a lot if we cried or squirmed or resisted in any fashion.  i remember his office being old & dingy & not at all inviting.  i also remember sitting in the waiting room while kathy went back (this was before her victory of getting a new dentist) & hearing her scream.  he had bad magazines,too-  but of course there is no surprise there, by this point, is there?  

by 5th grade (or maybe 6th), in addition to hilt, we made montly visits to dr. bauman, our orthodontist.  i was in braces for 4 years, maybe 5?  dr bauman had a much more happening office- he had a 6 chair orthodontial practice & man, did he move the people through!  he could be stern- generally, though, he was kind & patient & his office staff was friendly.  (hilt had no dental assistants- just a receptionist).  

i can't remember when we finally convinced mom to give up on hilt-  we moved to annandale in 1964, so the neighborly obligation had been fulfilled.  i don't remember going to another dentist.  i think we just saw dr. bauman.  at any rate, i didn't go to the dentist again until 1985 or so-  about 10 - 12 years later.  i saw a guy in va. beach when we lived there-  i remember one time he was doing a procedure & i was tearing up- he nor his staff said anything, nor acknowledged anything-   game over!  he was off the list.  when we moved to richmond in 1990, i hunted for a new dentist.  i got a recommendation from a work colleague- dr. talton- i think was his name.  at the time, i was working in petersburg & near the chesterfield county courthouse- dr. talton was on the goochland/henrico county line at tuckahoe shopping center.   it was a 45-minute drive (no 288 back then!).  dr. talton was okay- he was a little too slick for my taste though-  & he was very expensive.  he got ticked off the list. & then we found dr. fred, my dental savior, my dental fabio.

                                                        we found dr. fred from our next door neighbors.  he had been in dental school at one point & had met dr. fred, a dds & a phd.  in order to become a patient of dr. fred's, you had to have an in- someone who referred you.  that sounded exclusive....  anyway, i love dr. fred.  he is the only dentist in his office- he has a hygienist & a receptionist.  they've been with him forever.  he can be pretty grumpy sometimes with his hygienist, debbie & it's like listening to a long-married couple banter back & forth.  the first visit i had with fred, he knew immediately what i needed & got it done.  he says he knows he only has about 20 minutes before i get too antsy (sometimes he subtly checks my pulse on my neck to see how i'm doing) & he does his best to stay within those parameters.  he has never hurt me.  he sings while he works- this is great.   i don't know why dentists insist on trying to conversate when they are working on you- fred just sings.  he makes me laugh.  when danny was smoking cigars & trying to quit-  it was fred who said- try a pipe!  which danny did.  & then armand, my brother-in-law.  & then tommy, my brother.  thanks, fred.

so, for the rest of the story.....   fred said today i had three choices- a crown, something else i can't remember, or using this glass-cement compound that came with no guarantees.  he had used it on one of his teeth & that was 7 years ago- it was still good.  all he did was shoot some on the tooth, smooth it out & let it dry.  i was out of there in 10 minutes.  i don't know what i'll do when fred retires.  he said he'll be 60 this year- luckily, he is paying for his daughter's medical school (can you imagine graduating from medical school with no debt?), so he'll not be retiring early.  who knows, today's remedy for my tooth could last a long time, maybe?  if i stay away from the conversation hearts- at least until next valentine's day?     so thank you fred- what would i do without you?

an iphone is sad, an iphone is lost & i am jonesing

gosh- i am bad at this blog business- aren't i?  i keep meaning to be more regular & yet i fail repeatedly & i want to have some fun with it.  right now i'm having to admit to myself i was really attached to my iphone- i feel like i've given up my pacifier or something- it held everything for me.  luckily, it's all backed up on my computer, so i have all my appointments, contacts, referrals, food diaries, to do lists, etc.  what a bummer....   i have never lost a phone & of course i would lose the most expensive phone i would own.  major buzz kill!!!

remember the days before cell phones?  i recall when we used to go on vacation & one of the first things i did when i got home was call my BFF franny to catch up on all the news (usually none) & tell her about the vacation we took.  we usually went to the outer banks in north carolina- i used to hate it.  i always thought it would be a great place to recover from a heart attack- rather boring for me, especially as i edged closer to adolescence.  i have never liked going in the ocean- it bothers me to share my space with creatures i can't see & i don't ever want to have an encounter with a jellyfish- they look awful.  usually, my friend paul can shame me into one foray into the ocean each year - one of my favorite inventions is the shoes you wear in the ocean- that makes it a bit easier.  i don't know why i'm such a weenie.  i don't like going in rivers or lakes either- mostly b/c of snakes.  things like sharks don't bother me- they're too big.  i worry about the jellyfish, crabs & something brushing against my leg.  we still go to the beach every year for vacation- danny & i- not very original, huh?  we no longer go to the outer banks during the summer-  very, very crowded.  my friend susan turned me onto topsail island in north carolina about 15 years ago -  it's a great place to recover from a heart attack!  that is now a desirable quality of a vacation destination.  

well, this started b/c i was talking about cell phones.  one of the things about cell phones is that they have redefined the concept of being late for many people.  as one who is chronically tardy, no matter what efforts i seem to make, it's an interesting thing.  many people these days don't consider themselves late if they call to let the person they are meeting know.  by the way, i don't ascribe to that philosophy- if you're late, you're late!  many people think if we are to meet at 2pm & i call you at 1:50pm & tell you i can't get there until 2:30pm, then i'm not late b/c i let you know.  who cares that you left in time to be there at 2pm?  i want to again be on time, like i used to.  mornings are hard & i get so easily distracted by shiny things-  LOOK-  A SHINY THING!!! IT SPARKLES!!  i can't refuse it-  a significant character defect.  one of the ways i avoid being late is not giving an ETA when i can get away with it- equally as annoying to others as  being late.

well, i've rambled & done a recent post.  i'll go tomorrow & give at&t more of my money so i can stop jonesing for my iphone- i do miss the little bugger.  i couldn't do my crossword puzzles today-  i'll have a lot of catch up to do when i get my new phone tomorrow.  at least i won't be fiending for the phone!

i'm running low on outrage

i am running low on outrage.  i thought perhaps my supply was unlimited- i did after all make it through the bush years with my hope intact & i didn't fall into apathy as a result of feeling impotent.  the whole bailout thing is pretty disgusting- rewarding some people for their greed (which was unlimited).  then we hear the stories- AIG treating their folks to the $45k spa experience.  citibank getting a talking to because they wanted to buy a corporate jet with their federal bailout money.  & then today we hear about wells-fargo wanting to use the money to continue the tradition of taking their top 1000 employees on an annual excursion.  this one was in las vegas for 11 days to the tune of 25 million.  how out of touch are these people?  it's bad enough if they are spending their profit, but to think nothing of taking tax money/federal money which our future generations will be wrestling with for years & years & take a first class trip to las vegas for 1000 people & their guests!!!!  one of their past annual events was a private concert by jimmy buffett when they were visiting some warm caribbean island between helicopter rides.  

& today they were talking on NPR about executive & CEO pay.  they say if we don't pay it, we won't get the top people-  these top people have failed in so many ways.  i'd hate to see what the lower kind of people might produce- could they do worse?  some of the compensation experts (now there's a career) said that if they don't pay these guys top dollar, they'll go somewhere else.  that may have been true at some point in the past- where would they go today?  

anyway, enough of that.  it's not original & it's boring.  & i am tired of the greed & lack of empathy by so many these days.

on another note- what is up with facebook?  over the past two weeks, i think almost over a dozen of my friends have recently joined.  what started this phenomenon?  the kids are losing some interest in it because of all the old people who are on it now.  i am wondering if there was recently some sort of big story or event regarding facebook that so many people signed up in such a short time frame?  it's fine with me- i just wonder what's going on.  

i think i'll devote one day a week of the blog to gift ideas & cool shopping places & unusual objects that i run across.  with my travel having ground to a halt, i'll have to let me fingers do the walking- the cyber stuff gives a whole different meaning to that old ad tagline from at&t- how many years ago was that?    

for right now, my waning outrage & i are going to go to sleep now- perhaps i'll refuel in my sleep!