I went to the post office in Whaletown (no whales and hardly a town) today. A woman was leaving as I was going in. Later, I went to the store at Gorge Harbor. The same woman was there. Twenty minutes pass and I am at the dock at Whaletown Harbor (my God is it beautiful) hoping a fisherperson had fish to sell. I turn and guess, just guess, who's getting out of her van. Right! That woman. I placed my shooting hand inside my jacket threateningly and took a marksman's stance. "Why is it you are everywhere I am?" I asked through clenched teeth. She smiled disarmingly,but I wasn't fooled. "It's funny, isn't it?" she said. My hamstrings were screaming at me from the silly stance I had taken. I responded, "Yeah." All my tough guy posturing and all my
don't-tread-on-me hissing were, it turns out, directed at the island's dental clinic owner. I agreed to come in for a cleaning I do not need.
1 comment:
“Painless Dentistry” is a common phrase used to lure rich Albertans into the chair where the experience cost 35% more than even the best dentist costs in the neighbouring province to the east. Saskatchewanians, not so easily fooled by flashy signs and anaesthetic machines that beep to ensure they are actually doing something, are much more practical. Pain is supposed to be part of the process; at least it was when I was growing up. I remember my mom giving permission to the dentist to give me a spanking if the anaesthetics didn’t work!! Grin and bear it is the provincial mantra. To this day, I still sit white knuckled the dentist chair. Imagine my reaction to the following two dental stories shared by Cortesians:
#1 Let’s call this guy B2: this guy is something. Got game? He does! Last week B2 extracted a molar. My knuckles turned white listening how he thoughtfully weighted a length of fishing twine with a pulley system rigged to his balcony. Anyway B2 had another toothache this week, too much sugar in his coffee. “Popeye” caught up with me in the office, breathing intermittently out of one side of his mouth. This time B2 failed in his attempt to extract the opposite upper molar. He needed a dental appointment fast! It seems short notice appointments are hard to come by on Cortes, even if you are a person of importance. Two days later, B2 shared that the notion of painless dentistry is laughable when you compare it to being stuck on a stranded bus with 15 students and a septic tooth. Root-canals are fun!
#2 Let’s call this guy T3. This time the scheduled tooth extraction transpired in a professional office. Four ferry rides and one email later I determined T3 would return to his position of importance and fill the void caused by his absence… once he woke up the next day from his Tylenol 3 semi- coma. It appears that the painkiller labelled T3 doesn’t mean “take three.”
Post a Comment