68/73 degrees today. Coolish. No walk or cycle etc, on "fasting" diet (no food or water) due to dental surgery this morning. Obviously not looking forward to it, but will be glad to get it over.
The surgery is for two "tooth implants" I am having to replace a defective/worn out bridge. I ail have one tooth extracted this morning, bone grafted, and then have two teeth implanted over the next six months (allows time for healing etc.). Not look forward to the extraction but...
The first extraction was pure hell. I had just gotten out of the Air Force and had one year of "free" dental care. The "free" dental care cost me thousands of dollars over the past 40 years. The dentist was too lazy to do a root canal, so he pulled the tooth. I should have refused it, but didn't have the sense to do it. Over the years, the bridge has been replaced, etc. and the poor quality of work he did caused other tooth problems.
Several years ago, a Dentist wanted to replace the bridge again (at a cost of about $4,500). This was after I had it replaced several years ago at a similar cost. I decided to wait (and hope it didn't suddenly start hurting). I switched Dentist and the new Dentist recommended a tooth implant, which made sense. The first quote was for $6500 +-, which is somewhat paid by dental insurance (but not much). I delayed and finally decided to get another quote which was for about $3800 max, plus since I had delayed, I could use two years of dental insurance. (The $3800 is for the implant oral surgeon only, not the two crowns and other items the regular Dentist has to do!) Between insurance and my "cafeteria plan", I can do it without a lot of cash outlay but still.... I'll be glad when it is over to say the least. Will be out of the office at least today, who knows how the pain medicine will affect me. I will be glad to get it over.
Sometimes the no water/no food part is the worst of it. Thank goodness I have an early appointment.
My poem today from The World Without End is Ending is "Urban Renewal". Not quite sure why I wrote this, but at the time, I would walk with a friend through some of the more decayed parts of Oklahoma City.
Occasionally we would see a house, freshly painted, with flowers, well maintained etc. as an oasis among the dilapidated and abandoned houses. I think that is the basis of this poem, especially the last part, where the house (and inhabitants) obviously remember a better time and are hoping for renewal and a return to the better days when the neighborhood was a place where you could actually live.
URBAN RENEWAL
A dog of another color
Ambles over the red brick road
Followed by
A freckled boy
in tattered blue jeans
And shirt
Feet bare
A rusted Ford
Resolving to run again
Waits on metal rims
A faded blue pickup
Bares all
Amid broken glass and
Torn metal
A broken down sofa
And matching chair
Highlight the
Tangle of weed-infested yards
Amid the wasteland
Scaling paint, sunken roofs
And boarded windows
A black and white
Silently observes
The vapor
Of the dream
A bright white house
Red roses shining like torches
Wait
For the return
To glory
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