an open letter to PCIntern

[franksolich]

Hey, dude.

After all these years of reading your comments on Skins’s island, I’m very happy we’ve finally met.

By the way, when looking at that picture, specifically at the neck, perhaps if you would’ve asked, my alma mater, the University of Nebraska, probably would’ve extended you a full-ride four-year scholarship, if you’d been willing to play football for us.

That’s an awesome neck.

Great hair, too.

I know, I know; you’re a Pennsylvanian, and Pennsylvanians don’t think much of Nebraska.

<<<knows; both parents were born and raised in Pennsylvania, and has dozens, scores, of aunts and uncles and cousins in Pennsylvania, all of whom loathe and despite Nebraska, although I have no idea why.

The University of Nebraska’s not nearly as ancient as the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, but it is widely known as “the Harvard of the Great Plains.”  And the Cornhuskers football team, over the past 127 years, has produced lots and lots of dentists, some of them becoming rather prominent.

So you wouldn’t have missed a beat in your career plans, by coming out here and playing football.

- - - - - - - - - -

Anyway.

As I said, I’ve been reading your comments on Skins’s island for years and the last thing I want to come across is as being mean--I’m a nice guy, one of the nicest guys one can ever hope to meet--but really, your stories need literary work.  Extensive work, a whole team of editors plastic-surgerying them.

In fact, I rather suspect that penning such tales isn’t really your forte; that God intended for you to write other things, not those.  Probably you’d do much better offering dental advice and counsel to the primitives; it’d be a public service for the Good of Humanity.

You know, one thing that drives me nuts about the primitives is their constant insistence that they don’t get dental care because they “can’t afford it.”

My ass, they can’t afford it.  How come they can always afford marijuana or other recreational drugs?

I came from a medical family, growing up with this attitude that if one truly needs something regarding one’s health and life, get it done, and worry later about paying for it.  If it needs done, get it done.

I’ve been poor before--poorer than the primitives, even--but I’ve never gone without adequate medical care.  If I needed something done, I had it done…..and paying for it was something that just worked out naturally, all by itself.

- - - - - - - - - -

You probably understand even better than I do, which is considerable, about how healthy teeth and an aesthetic mouth contribute to a sense of confidence and well-being.  There’s just something very uplifting about clean teeth.

I’ve been fortunate; I still have all of mine, and they’re all still white, despite my compulsive chain-smoking of cigarettes since I was 17 years old.  Not only are they all still there, and as white as Ivory soap, but there’s only one filling and one crown.

(The four wisdom teeth are gone, but that’s a story for another day.)

In fact, most of my dental bills have been merely for x-rays and cleaning.  I perhaps have the teeth professionally cleaned more often than I need to, but damn, every time I have it done, the world’s suddenly a brighter, merrier place.  If it were advisable, I’d have the teeth professionally cleaned twice a week, it changes things so much.

And if other people took better care of their teeth and mouths, it wouldn’t only make just them feel good, but me too.

- - - - - - - - - -

You see, I’ve probably in my life seen the insides of more mouths than you have; lots more.

I’m not a dentist; I’m just an ordinary person who happens to be deaf (born that way; microtia, absent both ears), and being deaf, I have to muster all possible resources in order to “hear” other people…..which includes “reading” their faces, in particular their lips.

It’s rarely--if ever--a pleasant sight, looking inside people’s mouths; I’ve seen all sorts of degeneracies in there, but of course not being a dentist, I have no idea what and why they are, only that they convulse the stomach.

But being a nice guy with a sense of fortitude, I manage to keep what’s in the stomach, down in there.

Really, though, when looking at damaged teeth and dirty mouths, one just wants to go “Gaa…..”

I put up with it because I have to; if I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t do it for even twice the money you make.

[USA4ME]

The primitive shouldn't be trusted with a mop, much less teeth. However, being a janitor was his true calling, therefore a janitor he shall forever be.

.

[vesta111]

The primitive shouldn't be trusted with a mop, much less teeth. However, being a janitor was his true calling, therefore a janitor he shall forever be.

.

I give up, what the heck is this all about ???? 

And USA4, what is wrong with being a janitor ?  Fancy a world with no janitors, picture India, parts of Asia and the M.E. where folks poop on the ground. 

Not a high teck job,    but without someone doing it head back to 15 century England where those that visited could smell the city from 15 miles away.  Was said one could walk across the  Thames on the backs of dead animals and people. Must have been a lovely disease ridden city at that time.

Reminds me of the gas stations out in the bodunks of the South West when we stopped for gas and a pee call for the kids.  Some of the rest rooms were so bad I took the kids out to pee behind a bush.   At one time when I was into photography I entertained the idea of filming these places and making them into a unique coffee table book on "What goes in must come out ".

Now Frank, what has gotten you into a tizzy over peoples teeth ?  Won't be long before you have to change your game plan to communicate with others as we all will be wearing a face mask as the march of diseases come slowly down the Pike, one after the other.        Just wait until infectious TB comes ashore

   

[franksolich]

Now Frank, what has gotten you into a tizzy over peoples teeth ?  Won't be long before you have to change your game plan to communicate with others as we all will be wearing a face mask as the march of diseases come slowly down the Pike, one after the other.  Just wait until infectious TB comes ashore.

Oh now, vesta dear.

Go entertain yourself by reading "back-porch dentistry":
http://conservativecave.com/index.php?topic=27817

It's about the time I hired a Greek plumber--I was living in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the time--to pull my four wisdom teeth.  It's a true story, and as with other preposterous situations in which I've found myself, it has the usual unexpected ending.

Like PCIntern, this bifocaled plumber, although short and squat unlike PCIntern, had one of the thickest necks I've ever seen, betraying his extraordinary strength, which he needed when yanking out the third of the four wisdom teeth.

- - - - - - - - - -

As for "listening" to people who talk with their mouths covered in some way, that's always been a problem.

The most perilous is when dealing with someone whose head is slanted downward, and the brim of his cowboy hat covers his face.  In case you didn't know this vesta dear, one never messes with someone's cowboy hat; it's usually an invitation to the hospital or the mortuary.

But I do what I have to do, reaching over and lifting the brim of his hat so I can "read" his face.

Despite some close calls, I survived them all, but I wouldn't recommend anybody else try this.

[BattleHymn]

Go entertain yourself by reading "back-porch dentistry":
http://conservativecave.com/index.php?topic=27817

I break out into a cold sweat just thinking about that story, much less reading it.

[franksolich]

I break out into a cold sweat just thinking about that story, much less reading it.

Although it ended well, I suppose one would think me a rash idiot for having tried such a thing.

But, as explained in the story, a bona fide dentist in Lincoln, Nebraska--an alumni of the University of Nebraska, a one-time Cornhusker football player, and a renown aviator--had taken x-rays and showed them to me.  In all four cases, the roots grew straight down (i.e., they weren't curled around the jaw or anything), and he said it'd be as easy as strawberries-and-cream, a less-than-a-minute job, to yank them.

I saw the x-rays; they would've come out slicker than a pig sliding on ice.

But he wanted $160 for the job--this was early in the Reagan years, and that was a lot more money than it is now--and I was impatient to move to Pennsylvania, so I let it be.

But once in Pennsylvania, I learned of this plumber of Greek derivation who did amateur dentistry on the side, on his back porch, and he demanded only twenty-five bucks.

[Carl]

I wonder how many of this things patients know that deep down it is a raving lunatic?

[franksolich]

I wonder how many of this things patients know that deep down it is a raving lunatic?

Well now, I must say something in favor of dentists; I’ve always enjoyed dentists.

Being someone with whom it’s difficult--involuntarily, of course--to deal, I’ve had ample opportunity all my life, to compare how people in different professions treat the deaf.

Generally, it’s been good, but I’ve never met a dentist or a cop who wasn’t unusually sensitive to the needs of the deaf; in fact, they’ve been even more patient, more gracious, more effective at communicating, than even medical professionals who specialize in our, uh, situation.

Professionals such as cosmetologists, podiatrists, otolaryntologists, &c., &c., &c., are okay, but as someone who’s deaf, I’d sooner deal with a dentist than any other medical professional.

[franksolich]

I break out into a cold sweat just thinking about that story, much less reading it.

As mentioned, despite having few dental problems, I do have a crown on one tooth; it was installed twenty years ago, and during the last examination, the dentist (a real one) said it’s still good.

Just before leaving for the socialist paradises of the workers and peasants in 1993, the bona fide dentist in Lincoln had noticed one tooth was starting to crack, suggesting that sooner or later I’d need to have it crowned.

I didn’t bother with it at the time, as I was in a hurry to get over to the socialist paradises to see what was going on.  I was afraid all the excitement would be over with by the time I got there (and alas it was).

While there, because I didn’t trust the native cuisine, there were times where I existed for several days in a row on merely weak tea and mahorka (a really bad tobacco), and at one time, at 6’3” tall, I was down to 137 pounds.  There probably existed some sort of dietary deficiency that caused the tooth to subtly bother me.  (I dunno if that was the case, but it makes sense to me.)

At one remote village in mid-winter--remember, I went on my own, paying my own way, and so felt “entitled” to roam around as I wished--during a conversation with a peasant lad about something else, he mentioned that the village dentist was “very good.”

(That’s the way it usually was; I’d speak oranges to someone who ostensibly knew English, while the other person would speak apples.)

Out of boredom, I decided to check this out; to see exactly how good a socialist dentist was.

Now, this was a village, remember, in near-medieval decrepitude.  I wasn’t too impressed at the hospital, to see human bodily wastes and blood splotching the corridors, the “nurses” were senescent old drunks, and the whole place stank of gangrene.

The dentist, a mild modest middle-aged guy who had a 10% knowledge of English, told me he had been a dentist to Soviet troops in eastern Germany for some years, after which the socialists sent him to this village.

He visually examined the tooth--no x-rays--and agreed that yes, it’d be a good idea to have a crown there, and yes, he was willing to do it.

Now, there was “free medical care for all” in the socialist paradises, but you and I know that was bullshit; by law and on paper, such care was “free,” but to actually get it, one also had to bribe individuals involved, making medical care more expensive there, than it is here.

However, the dentist was awed that an Amerikanskiy would submit himself to his professional skills, and so his demands were modest; a bottle of summahon (home-made vodka).

A big deal was made out of this; the whole hospital, nay the entire village, knew that the Amerikanskiy was going to partake of their services.  The “technicians” who made the molds or the crowns, or whatever they were, insisted that I come in and watch them craft mine.

I refused anesthesia, because dollars were needed for that scarce, almost-nonexistent, commodity, and while I don’t care for pain, I can withstand a lot of it to save some bucks.

The dental office--well, one would have to see such a thing before one could possibly imagine it--was small, and jammed with the crown-makers, drunken nurses, and a couple of “physicians,” while villagers stood right outside the doorway, eagerly peeking inside.

The office itself--well, imagine a dental office in America circa 1890-1910, including the foot-operated drill, had no water, and I spit into a miniature sink encrusted with ancient blood and rust.

The installation was very quick; the guy may’ve been lacking in equipment and supplies, but he was an artist, very talented, when it came to both people skills and dental skills.  I was awed; if he could do this well in such decrepitude, imagine how well he could do in better (i.e, American) surroundings.

[vesta111]

As mentioned, despite having few dental problems, I do have a crown on one tooth; it was installed twenty years ago, and during the last examination, the dentist (a real one) said it’s still good.....

Frank the reason people become artists is they have little to work with.  Have to use their  imagination  and think out of the box.   

 Second Worse experience I had with a dentist  who had all the bells and whistles of todays teck  was  when a week of giving birth, all 4 wisdom teeth went wild.  So Mother took me to a dentist and he with no idea I had just given birth, like to bleed to death. 

Interesting that mouth, gums , teeth and throat are so under rated in the medical community.         

[franksolich]

Interesting that mouth, gums , teeth and throat are so under rated in the medical community.       

Unfortunately vesta dear, that’s true.

Some of the most aesthetic, well-groomed, fastidious people I know, have appalling oral hygiene.

It’s random chance, what one’s going to see when someone else first opens up his mouth.

And I suspect it’s because people, professionals and the hoi polloi alike, attach lesser importance to dental health, than to lung heath or heart heath or kidney health or liver health or stomach health.

An otolaryntologist or a dermatologist impresses, because he’s a “real” physician, while a dentist, oh, he’s “only” a dentist.

I’ve always considered dentists on the same elevated level as M.D.s in the varied specialties; he’s a doctor just as they are, specializing in dental health.

[Tess Anderson]

So PCIntern is really a dentist after all? Not surprised, a lot of times he'd go into technical detail when he was talking shop. I don't consider DDS/DMD < MD at all, what I don't like about him is the way he trashes his patients and others.

He and nadin were supposedly boycotting the DUmp but he was posting there again just the other day.

[Skul]

One of the roomies in this four bed room. Is a dentist.  Nice guy.

[franksolich]

One of the roomies in this four bed room. Is a dentist.  Nice guy.

How are you doing?

<<<still excessively secreting from the lachrymal glands that you're back.

[Skul]

How are you doing?

<<<still excessively secreting from the lachrymal glands that you're back.

Not too bad. Could always be better.
Youngest son got me an iPad and a mobile hotspot. Now I have net available.
Hard to type.....finger gets sore.i

[franksolich]

Hard to type.....finger gets sore.

Don't overdo it; take your time to get well.

I'll personally excuse you from posting, just so you're reading, which doesn't take the fingers.

[Skul]

Don't overdo it; take your time to get well.

I'll personally excuse you from posting, just so you're reading, which doesn't take the fingers.

A going to get one of those rubber finger thimbel things so I can post.

Having an Odouls right now. First "beer" in 5 months.

[franksolich]

So PCIntern is really a dentist after all? Not surprised, a lot of times he'd go into technical detail when he was talking shop.

I don't consider DDS/DMD < MD at all, what I don't like about him is the way he trashes his patients and others.

He and nadin were supposedly boycotting the DUmp but he was posting there again just the other day.

You know, the problem with PCIntern’s stories is that he wants to make a point, and so then rather telling what really happened, he takes bits-and-pieces from past experiences and observations, to tell the story.

I do that myself, to make the tales of the primitives more interesting.

However.

However.

However.

It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

I use only pieces from the same box of pieces.

PCIntern appears to grab a few pieces out of this box, a few pieces out of that other box, more pieces out of a third box, a couple of pieces out of yet another box, and put it all together.

And so he’s got all these pieces, some from a jigsaw puzzle meant to portray a mountain lion, others from a puzzle meant to portray a panorama of the Sandhills, yet others from a puzzle meant to be a basket of fruit, and a few pieces from a puzzle meant to be Henry VIII.

When completed, the puzzle’s scrambled mix, all these unrelated pieces.

I’m not panning the guy--no way; he’s a dentist, after all--but writing stories to make a point isn’t one of his stronger skills and talents.

Maybe he’d do better to just write a story without worrying about making a point, like I do?

[franksolich]

He and nadin were supposedly boycotting the DUmp but he was posting there again just the other day.

On that, madam, he has a legitimate grievance; the primitives truly are anti-Semitic, and ought to be kicked in the mouth for being that way.

I'm of only one-eighth Judaic derivation--it hasn't been a part of my life or my culture, but I respect it, honor it, because it's one of those things that without, I wouldn't be me--but it's been my observation as a trained historian that the Jews and the British (pre-1945) are the finest people who ever graced this earth.

[GOBUCKS]

I'll bet he's as good a dentist as ThomWV, with his necklace of self-extracted teeth.

Which reminds me, though he's deader than a doornail, DUmmy ThomWV is nowhere to be found in the Dead DUmmy forum.

We should ask Skimmer's flunky Elad to add ThomWV to the forum at the same time as the Bellevue big guy and the Cleveland ward heeler.

Kill three birds with one stone, so to speak.

[franksolich]

I'll bet he's as good a dentist as ThomWV, with his necklace of self-extracted teeth.

Which reminds me, though he's deader than a doornail, DUmmy ThomWV is nowhere to be found in the Dead DUmmy forum.

We should ask Skimmer's flunky Elad to add ThomWV to the forum at the same time as the Bellevue big guy and the Cleveland ward heeler.

Kill three birds with one stone, so to speak.

I think the mountain man primitive's missing from the primitive mortuary because when he died, although it became a known fact, no primitive thought to start an "official" thread about it, even though he'd been reasonably popular among his fellow primitives.

Apparently there needs to be an official "he's dead" thread.

You might recall the mountain man primitive had a significant chunk of his brain removed.  The first few days it looked likely he'd recover, but then suddenly he went down.

He alleged himself to be an atheist, and so one wonders what his reaction was, upon meeting his specific God; Jack the Father, Bobby the Christ, and Vast Teddy the Holy Ghost.