Open Wide. No, Wider.

I was taken by surprise today, not having realized I had a dental appointment.

I don't like dental appointments, and this was a new dentist.

At least it was quick.

It was odd that she wore little plastic baggie things on her hands, and not the usual rubber gloves. But whatever.

She examined my teeth and told me I had four fillings and one crooked tooth.

Then my teeth were cleaned. I hate the whine of that electric tooth cleaner, but the toothpaste was minty and fresh.

I spit in a receptacle that resembled a cowboy boot.

The dentist then stuffed cotton balls, coated with a minty blue substance, into my mouth and I lay there for a while before they were removed. Water was then poured into my mouth from a canteen and I was forced to get out of the chair and spit into a sink located in another room.

At that point it was all over, and I was given a piece of paper with a follow-up appointment that read:

Clean? YES
Next Appointment: Friday Jan 30 $7:30

And it was signed.

Those Meddling Kids

I saw their van parked in a lot downtown, and could only wonder what ghoulish mystery was afoot in our rainy city.


My daughter asked me if they had their dog with them, but I replied I only saw their van.

(On a related note, I heard Scrappy had mange and died. I do hope that is true.)

In answer to George's Question

Yes, as a matter of fact, she does wear trenchcoats and fedoras.

Like Father Like Daughter

I read in the paper the other day that Seattle is no longer the most caffeinated city in America. Tampa, Florida, takes first place. Yet Seattle remains the coffee capital of the world. Tampa takes the top caffeine award due to the consumption of massive quantities of iced tea, chocolate and energy drinks.

Make mine a double tall non-fat hazelnut latte.

My daughter will take a house drip with cream and sugar. This kid is a grumpus in the morning until she has her coffee.

Just like her Dad.

No Late Fees?

It's embarrassing how few movies I have watched at home during the latter part of 2008. A few weeks ago it occurred to me that the three movies that had arrived from Netflix in back in May were still floating around the house.

Lars and the Real Girl was unwatched. I did manage to view the first half hour or so of Felini's 8 1/2, but the wife would have nothing to do with it so I turned it off. The same went for Truffaut's Day for Night -- I caught but the first part of the movie and that was it.

All three movies arrived about the time the Seattle Film Festival was starting, and I had shelved them for viewing later on. During the festival I would see two, three or four movies a day, and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home is watch a movie on DVD.

So right before New Year's, some seven months after they had arrived, I collected my rented DVDs and dropped them in the mail. Three DVD's, seven months late, and no late fees.

While I am on the subject of late fees, I know someone who has three items checked out of the Lexington County Public Library which are stamped due (yes, stamped) November 16, 1978.

Can anyone venture an estimate on what my, er, my friend's late fees would be were he to return the books on February 1 of this year?

A Blast from the Past - 1986

Twenty-two years ago, the school pictured in the background was never "ugly" in my mind. By today's standards, however....

The two nameless persons pictured left were accused of hijacking their senior yearbook. Hogwash. They merely stepped up to the plate and provided the lion's share of the content. The photo at left is one of many pictures of themselves that never made it into the final edition.

Photo by Malcolm, taken for the high school yearbook, from my personal files.