Today is upon us and I started my adventure by donning my clothes, rushing out of the house and driving to the dentist. Because I broke off a side of big back tooth on the lower right side. Clear in the back. This happened last Thursday as I was munching on my cookie on the 14th hole of the golf course. Or was it the 15th hole? Who cares? It was not a good event.
Going to the dentist these days is not like it used to be. Now, you have to knock at the front door of the office and someone comes out and takes your temperature and asks you probing questions about your health. Everyone is wearing a mask as required. The office takes on a different vibe.
The office was freezing and boy was I glad to have worn a cashmere turtleneck sweater and my big Pillsbury doughboy jacket. When led back to “the chair”, I elected to leave my jacket on and I kept my sunglasses on my lap in case the lights were too bright (they were). Quite a sight.
It was a very unpleasant experience. The shot wasn’t too bad at all. It was the drilling and I’d like to make a case for considering “drilling” as an . That is the word that sounds like it sounds. Other words considered onomatopoeias are words like “snap” and “crackle”, even “pop”. The drilling was very difficult because of the location of my tooth. At times it sounded like someone moving a grand piano across a wood floor….almost a growling sound. Then at other times, it was just a sharp shrill (onomatopoeia) sound that was quite loud and extremely annoying. 
The sound, however, was nothing compared to the waterboarding I received. With my tongue depressed, water flooded the tooth scene and I couldn’t breath very well. I tried to ignore it but, no way. After the first bout of this, I started gaging. God, gaging is so darn horrible. A reflex that is at once life saving and involuntary. OMG. Gag upon gag each one postponing the drilling. The dentist was so kind. He stopped again and again to allow me to recompose myself and steady my resolve until then, the next gag happened.
Coming up for air I said, “This feels like waterboarding”. A nervous laugh was heard. Then an explanation of the difficult location of the tooth. Okay, then. What else could he say? It had to be done and we both had to live through it. At this point I found myself wondering if anyone bites him. I had my chances. However, I opted out figuring it wasn’t very lady like. And so I endured what was necessary.
The option would have been worse. So there is that. Extractions are horrid too. Worse, really. Especially on those big back teeth. It makes me wonder…why don’t they knock us out? Not all the way. Just enough that if someone cut off our head we wouldn’t care.
What do you think about under these circumstances? I really do wonder what other think when in the dentist’s chair. My grand piano thought lead me down the rabbit trail of thinking about my Great Aunt Rachel, a pianist, who owned a grand piano and played the Turkish March on it…great piece, by the way. Then the mind flitted away and tried to find Zen-like poise and that lead me to thinking about Buddhists. I know a few. When the shrill (onomatopoeia) drill started, I was wishing I hadn’t worn my hearing aids. Being in such close proximity to the ear, hearing became the problem. Quite a different problem.
Well, I’m happy to say that I survived but you know that already. But, really…I am happy that I did survive. It felt like touch-and-go for a bit. All this took exactly one hour from knocking on the door to returning to my car. And the outside temperature rose 4 degrees in that hour. The little things in life, eh?
I’m home with a temporary crown in my numb skull. It may take days to return to normal and for that I am grateful. Can’t imagine life without numbers.
In other news, Biden and Harris are on board. The inauguration was fabulous. Today an article of impeachment goes from the House to the Senate. Heady days in the Capitol. Don’t know how you all feel about it but I am delighted that the Dems are forcing the GOP members to take a side. Are they with the seditionists or for the Constitution and rule of law. It’s not a difficult call at all and yet…it is so disappointing to know that the horrible man down in FL now, has them scared. Too scared, perhaps, to stand up for what is right. And no, there are no two sides of this. It is one or the other.
Moments to remember from Biden-Harris inaugur… – CBS News
In other news, yesterday, I spent the day trying to make an iMovie on my MacBook Pro. It took forever. The occasion of the movie is that Feb. 5 is Ryan’s birthday and we are here and he is there. So his main squeeze asked all his friends and family to do a short video. After much gnashing of “teeth” (there I go again), I finally put it together. I’m relatively certain he never reads my blogs so I mention it here. If I am wrong, I will be considered a toad. Oh, well, wouldn’t be the first time.
Well, it’s almost noon. Time to jump in the car and head to Opolo. They emailed that our shipment is ready for pick up. And after all that came before this, I definitely need a pick up!!
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