My newest BFF's, Peggy and Brenda

November 21, 2014 - Friday

-5 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Let's see, Sargie's sandwich is made. Check. Our cereal is poured, strawberries ladled on top and ready for breakfast. Check. Brutus is fed, let outdoors, and has had his Denta Stik to ensure white teeth and minty fresh breath. Check. The fire has been rekindled and the house is warming nicely. Check. I guess I'm ready to sit down and visit for a bit.

Thursday was DD, Dentist Day, on Pentoga Road. My new dentist is a heck of a nice guy, he's got a great chair-side personality, and best of all, he's gentle. Only problem, he's younger than a couple of my sons and when I think of them putting their hands in my mouth, panic sets in.

I wasn't slow to let him know that when it comes to my mouth, I'm a vulnerable and sensitive kind of guy. Though it's far from perfect, it's the only mouth I have. I also might have mentioned that if I feel any pain, I tend to curl up in the fetal position, attempt to suck my thumb, and rock back and forth repeatedly citing the days of the week. 

But the doctor was wonderful, explained what he was doing as he tested each tooth and even taught me a bit about doctor dentist lingo, mostly acronyms for cruddy teeth. 

".... ah, number 34 has a DOB and a slight MRI.... 35 is missing (had that sucker pulled years ago!).... and 37 has an occlusion, a DOB, an FBI, and a teeny BM.

Best of all, other than the doctor, I made two new friends, Brenda and Peggy. Brenda gave me the tour of the facilities and even offered to make me a cup of coffee. Little does she know my bladder is the size of a thimble and I was looking at some serious dentist chair time.

Peggy took x-rays of each and every tooth in my head and assisted the dentist. We gabbed and laughed, and I have to admit, I've never had so much fun visiting a dentist. Good ladies and doctor, those three.

Come next Monday, I'm not going to be nearly as smart as I am today. One of my wisdom teeth is going to get yanked from my head. It's loose, it's bad, and as the good doctor said, there's no sense in leaving it in. I believe a lot of headaches and infections will be alleviated once it's removed, but I'm concerned, it is a wisdom tooth. A fourth of all my deep-thinking knowledge is stored in that mini-hunk of ivory. 

Other than that, I need a couple of crowns that cost somewhere under a million dollars each, but Brenda's a whiz at insurance and priorities. She's got it all figured out how I can get the most bang for the buck from my insurance and for that, I'm grateful. 

By the time the next two years come and go, I should have one of the most beautiful mouths on Pentoga Road. I'll be walking along and and one of my neighbors (one of six who live in the four mile stretch) will no doubt say, "Why there goes Tom. Doesn't he have a beautiful mouth full of teeth?" 

What can I say? It's the way I roll.

I'm reclined in the dentist's chair. Where else can you go and watch television on the ceiling and read posters? I'm having thoughts of installing a flat screen in our bedroom ceiling, but think I'll skip the Amazing Facts poster... and I don't want those five beautiful people starring at Sargie and me, smiling, as we're sleeping. That's borderline creepy and kinky.

The rest of the day was challenging. I went to unload the wood from the back of the Man Truck and found a large gob of frozen goo with little wood. Evidently the boys had used a front end loader to scoop the wood that was buried deep in mud, snow, and glop, and deposited it in the truck where it froze solid. 

I pried, I used the maul, a shovel, even a pry bar, and eventually decided that no amount of swearing and mere manual coaxing would loosen the frozen boulder. I fired up the tractor and with the aid of the backhoe, began the process of removal. A couple of hours later, the truck was empty.

Due to her long hours, I haven't seen a lot of Sargie lately, so I decided to drive to Iron Mountain before it got dark and ride home with her. We had a good visit and enjoyed the extra time together. I'll be riding back with her this morning to get the Blazer. She's working nonstop this week with her first day off on Sunday. That girl sure puts in some long hours.

One snow squall after another blew in off of Lake Superior on Thursday afternoon. Temperature at the time, about 2 PM: 9 degrees with an18 mph wind. 

Sargie closes tonight, so it will be another long one for her. After I get home this morning, I hope to work on the fish shack. If the sun truly stays out as forecast and it warms into the twenties as promised, I might go fishing this afternoon. I've got a hankering for a big ol' mess of freshly caught crappies.

But first, it's time to pour another cup of coffee and think some deep thoughts while I still have all four wisdom teeth. 

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

  

At least Peggy looks good in this first-ever dental selfie