Teeth and Community

July 16, 2009
Spent most of the morning at the dentist’s office waiting for Bill. The other day he had a crown fall out of his head. He saved it and looked up how to fix it. Couldn’t find the cement. Just as well. He started having pain--pretty severe pain--shortly thereafter. Finally he called around to see if there was someone who could put the crown back in. He found a person who could fit him in this morning--Robert Wilcox. So we arrived, he filled out the paperwork and we waited. After what seemed like a very long time, I figured that there was something happening, but probably not a simple recemeting job. Sure enough, he came out and said that the dentist told him that he was really uncomfortable putting the crown back in because the problem was with an adjacent tooth. There was a small hole there that was somehow managing to drain well enough to avoid infection, though Bill has had some pain and discomfort in that area in the past. Anyway, he was concerned that if he put the crown back on, it would block the hole and an abscess would be the result. Bill explained to him that he could not afford to have any extensive dental work done right now, so Dr. Wilcox came up with an alternate plan that was actually somewhat cheaper than recementing the crown. I guess it is pretty much the beginning of a root canal that will have to be completed at a later date. Bill is just pretty happy to have the pain gone. And Dr. Wilcox gave him a bunch of stuff and a note to give to the next dentist. And a prescription for an antibiotic, just in case he needs it. He did say to keep the crown because it’s a nice one (!) that is worth between $750 and $1000. Once this other tooth is fixed, it can be put back again.
As I was waiting there for him, I was amazed at how happy everyone seemed. It is a dentist’s office after all. I have not been in many of those, but I do not believe I have ever seen such a group of cheerful people in such a setting before! It was clear that these people cared about one another. The receptionists were asking very specific questions about people’s families, trips, the hay crop, and other things. It was plain that they keep up with one another’s lives. It was pretty nice to watch! One of the big topics of conversation this morning was that Town Talk is closed this week because the owners have gone fishin’. The people in the office were, however, willing to put up with Safeway doughnuts so that they could have a great time fishing. As one woman said, “I’m glad they went fishing. They work really hard.” Everyone agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment. A patient actually brought the doughnuts as a gift. I guess that I never considered a dentist’s office to be a place where one would witness community, but I saw it there today.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Hardin, MT. I have no idea what to expect, so I have decided to expect nothing and see what I get! Might as well embrace surprise!

Something About Sunday

July 13, 2009
What is it about Sunday? Last Sunday in Spokane we were awakened in the middle of the night by a thunderstorm and then kept awake by the heavy rain. This Sunday in Coeur d’Alene, same thing! It was pretty muggy and warm yesterday afternoon and the clouds were hanging around all day. But we saw no rain. The wind kicked up last evening--we watched it blow the tent sideways so that half of it was practically on the ground. It wasn’t until about 11 that the thunder and lightning began along with the rain. It was quite something from our vantage point inside the tent. The lightning was so bright and the thunder was cracking like the sound of tree limbs breaking. And it seemed like long thunder. The wind kept blowing and the rain started. It was over in about 45 minutes and we took the opportunity to run to the bathroom building. We dozed and then woke up again to more thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. Again it was pretty intense. I went back to sleep because it looked like the tent was holding up well. Then, a few hours later, I felt the icy plop of a raindrop on my face. It was raining again--no thunder or lightning, just steady, pretty heavy rain. And more rain. And then as a bonus, some more rain after that. The plops came faster. I put my pillows under the sleeping bag so they would stay dry. More plopping. Finally it was going on and on and there was more and more plopping, so we struggled into our shoes and got stuff transferred from the dripping tent to the back to the truck. We got everything in there except for the sleeping bags, which were already too wet to do anything with. There are a few puddles there in the tent. Then we piled into the truck ourselves. Eventually the rain stopped, I went and took a shower, and I found my clogs--I’d been walking around in my sandals without socks, since everything was going to get wet anyway. My toes were cold! That hot shower, a fresh pair of socks and some closed-toe shoes felt really good!
We read a little until we could leave for the library again. I love libraries anyway and this is a nice one. Plus, it’s more comfortable than all 3 of us being jammed into the truck! And it is looking like we may have to try and get some sleep in the truck tonight. The sky is one big grey abstract. Everything is misty. The rain picked up again as we were headed over here and it was coming down pretty good. No sign of sun. It really is quite beautiful with all of the trees and the lake and everything. But it’s looking like it might be too wet for us to sleep in the tent tonight, though if the rain stops for an extended period of time we may have a shot. Tomorrow we head for Butte. We’d thought about stopping in Missoula and contacted someone through the Directory for Traveling Friends, but never got a reply. Not getting a reply is becoming a common theme for us on this trip. Anyway, we decided to skip Missoula and go straight to Butte. I probably should look up the weather forecast for that area!
Just before we left the campground to come into town, we were eating our breakfast of Clif bars when Bill said, “Uh-oh, I just lost a tooth.” One of his caps fell off. He had a crummy dentist as a kid and he and his sisters have had teeth problems all their lives. So now there’s this. We are hoping that there is no pain to come. Right now, he is writing down the directions for how to fix this kind of problem yourself. There’s nothing wrong with the cap itself, just the cement wore away, so apparently you can get cement and engage in a little DIY dentistry! Who knew?