Dear Tooth Demon,
Why hast thou cursed me so? The pain in the left side of my mouth is unbearable! I finally caved in to all of your guilt trips and went to the dentist at the beginning of the month. But ever since then you have plagued me with this pain. Is the torture really necessary to get your point across? I’ve been brushing twice a day, flossing nightly (despite the pain) and avoiding chewing on icecubes. What more do you want of me?!
I’m tired of the Ibuprofen and ice packs and bi-hourly nerve-twanging wake up calls. I’m physically and emotionally exhausted by all of this. Please, for the love of goddess, MAKE IT STOP!!!!
Regards,
Garnet Girl

P.S. I’m going to the good dentist in thirty minutes. I think I need two more root canals. To which I say, proudly, “BRING IT!!!!” Will that satisfy??????

Wow! Thanks for your suggestions/responses on the classics topic! I haven’t read Jane Eyre yet but I think I will add that to my list of must reads.
I thumbed through The Good Earth and Lolita the other night. I will read them, I’m just not in the mood right now. I have to be in the mood for a particular kind of novel. Maybe that’s why I fell off the book club list! I can’t tell in advance what sort of mood I’ll be in. Maybe we should make it up as we go along? Take suggestions on our differing moods and such? What do you think?

I actually dusted off and started reading Catcher in the Rye again. I think I read it in high school but I’ve since completely forgotten what it’s about. The book cover gives no description and I’m not even tempted to look it up on the net to find out. It reads easily so far and I’m enjoying it. I keep waiting to come across the reasoning to answer my question: “Wasn’t this a popularly banned book in some schools?” Still holding my breath to find out!

Speaking of banned books. Honey and I have been talking about both reading some banned books. Like finding a list of popularly banned books and taking a year to read some of them. Just to defy “The Man” and whatnot! So I did the obligatory Google search for ‘banned books list’ and on this page I saw this:

American Heritage Dictionary (1969)
In 1978, an Eldon, Missouri library banned the dictionary because it contained 39 “objectionable” words. And, in 1987, the Anchorage School Board banned the dictionary for similar reasons, i.e., having slang definitions for words such as “bed,” “knocker,” and “balls.”

ROTFLMAO!!!! “objectionable words”!!! LOL I guess it does take all kinds to make the world go round!

But does the site answer my aforementioned question?? Indeed, it does not:

Catcher in the Rye (1951)
by J. D. Salinger

This is a perennial favorite of censors and has been banned in the U.S. and Australia. In 1960, a Tulsa, OK teacher was fired for putting the book on the 11th grade reading list. The teacher was reinstated, but the book was permanently removed from teaching programs. A Minnesota high school administration was attacked for allowing the book in the school library.

I think I need a better list!!!

I’m about done with my current John Grisham novel and I don’t know what to crack open next. I’m craving some kind of classic. Probably because today I was skimming the pages of Oprah’s magazine and one of the editors had a piece on how to read a difficult/challenging novel. She gave some tips on how to keep the characters straight and gradually plow through the 1,300+ pages of War and Peace. That may be too daunting for me at this point but who knows. I have Lolita on my shelf collecting dust. Is that a “classic?”
I’ve enjoyed Little Women, Wuthering Heights and the like in the past. But do you have any suggestions for me???

P.S. I’ve kind of strayed from our book club list after a couple of my selections turned out to be bombs (IMO). Maybe, if you’re interested, we can rework the list of titles for the coming fall and winter when we tend to have more time to cozy up and read?

We had a great time in Santa Fe. Did a lot of shopping in the plaza and I went nuts in the gift shop at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum! We took some pictures but when we got home, I realized they were ALL of the dog doing cute things. How pathetic. We didn’t do any site seeing this trip but my in-laws have a condo down there so we’ll certainly go back again soon. It’s only a 5 hour drive from here. Loads of fun.

This, however, is not…

I haven’t been to the dentist in over 10 years. I had one growing up who was evil and had beady eyes and was determined to keep me in braces for the rest of my life. So, after I asked him to remove the braces, regardless of his opinion, I left his office and never looked back.

A couple weeks ago my sister-in-law talked me and Honey into going to the dentist. We went to Comfort Dental in town and got a full exam and Xrays. My mouth is in horrible shape. I need crowns, fillings, and something must be done about my gums. It’s yucky. Anyway, I learned how to floss and I’ve been brushing better ever since that appointment.

Last week, the morning before we left for Santa Fe, I had a deep cleaning done to half of my mouth and two temporary crowns put in. Hurt like hell but that’s why the doc gave me valium and nitrus. I was a little sore afterwards but no biggie.

Two days into our trip my mouth started getting worse. While the bottom half of my left side was healing from the temp crowns, the top half of that same side started hurting like hell. It got progressively worse. We had to stop for Orajel at a gas station on our way home from Santa Fe, it was so bad.

Monday I called the dentist and went right in. Turns out I have a bacterial infection in my gums now. They gave me an antibiotic and a pain killer. The pain killer didn’t do squat for the pain but it did make it difficult for me to breathe. The vicodin I had from an earlier medical issue just made me itchy. The only thing that works for the pain is three Advil every 3 hours and maybe some ice on my cheek.

I’m exhausted constantly and unable to go to work for our inservice week (school officially starts on Monday). I keep calling the dentist’s office but he’s only in on Wednesdays and the other dentist I saw is only there on Mondays or some shit. I’m pissed off at Comfort Dental and have inquired about a different dentist that a dear friend has referred me to.

I’m suffering here. In pain almost constantly and having daily panic attacks over it. I’ve tried clove oil on my gums (burns my mouth), massaging my face (works for about 10 minutes), taking a warm, relaxing bath (gets me to sleep only to wake up in another painful panic attack). I can’t think of anything else. I’m miserable and I want to kick something. There is nothing in this world as painful as tooth pain. Nothing. Except maybe heartbreak.

Honey is taking good care of me, though. He got up with me in the middle of hte night last night to make me chamomile tea and and ice pack. He put on Sarah McLachlan softly on the stereo and gave me some Advil. When the pain subsided he put me back to bed. He’s very sweet and I’m eternally grateful.

This new and improved dentist my friend referred me to has a web site. I shot off an email to the doc just now explaining my story and begging for help. It’ll probably be more expensive than Comfort Dental but at least he’s in his office five days a week like normal people. And they wouldn’t have put a link to his email address if he wouldn’t respond to such inquiries, right?

Well, the Advil is kicking in again and I’m worn out from just taking a shower. I’m headed back to the couch and season two of Angel. Thank you for allowing me to bitch and moan a bit before I go.

We’re loading up the very-healthy-back-to-normal-thanks-for-asking-Candace dog and we’re off to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a few days. I’ve never been there and am totally excited to see this! Be back next week!