Dr. Dentist Heals Me!

Our dentist is on the right showing off his racing Studebaker
Wednesday, January 13, I slept fitfully again with my ulcer on my tongue flaring up. So I got up at 6:00 a.m. I'm considering cancelling my dental cleaning but it took four weeks to get this appointment so I suck it up. But I'm putting my foot down; no x-rays--those bite-wing things will kill my tongue.

We have Crispy Thingies, scrambled eggs and fruit for breakfast. I leave the dishes drying in the sink--unusual for me. The low was 44 last night and it gets to a high of 58 today. It is cloudy as we head out the door at 8:50. It is early for us to be up and at 'em. Traffic is pretty light.

We get to Dr. M's at Rundberg and I-35 a bit early. I plan to go first so I don't have to sit around and think about it but of course I have to find the restroom first. They snag Bob first while I'm gone. But Dr. M comes out to the lobby to give me a big hug and chat. He asks if I'm all right (I guess he can tell I'm talking funny.) I tell him about my three mouth ulcers that are killing me. He immediately drags me back to his chair and treats my ulcers with his magic wand of burning stuff. It makes my eyes water but it was worth it. A few minutes later I have my first relief from pain in days. I can talk! Dr. M says "Wow, you have quite a crater on your tongue! I see people with these all the time but not that huge." His stuff cauterizes the wound and zaps it with microbiobials. He gives me a prescription for a rinse to use until it clears up. He suggests pineapple, strawberries and tomatoes are sometimes the culprits.

I almost feel human but not enough for those x-rays. I blow off his assistant when she comes for me. Dr. M does my exam instead and we talk Studebaker racing in Mexico. He didn't go down there this year; $12,000 was too much money for the trip after his 401K took a dive. I snap a picture of the last couple of years' posters and maps.

Bob is done with his cleaning and I'm next for an abbreviated version with no polishing as it would be too painful. They have been very compassionate about my pain and I'm smiling for the first time in days when I leave. I call Evelyn, my Beauty Control rep, from the parking lot at 11:00. We're early and she's not expecting us so Bob and I wend our way over to Golfsmith to browse around.

The clubs are all way too high, even their used, traded-in clubs that we usually find a bargain on. I find two golf shirts and a pair of shorts in that nice wick-dry material for 70% off. Sweet! We go on to Fry's at Parmer and MoPac to look at digital picture frames. None of them have the specific features we want and nothing is on sale. So we leave empty handed. I call Evelyn at 12:45; of course now we're 15 minutes late. But she had time to go through some old postcards sent by family members that she is nice enough to share with me.

We get to Branding Chase (It's always weird to be in my brother Mike's old neighborhood) and I find her dining room table spread out with postcards galore. She gives me a big stack that they have already gone through. And she gives me two nice Lawson Woods (an artist I collect) postcards. I tell her about the Capitol of Texas Postcard Club if she wants to go to the show here in Austin in February and see about any of them.

We swap out the new Cell Block C that is only SPF 15. That's just not enough for me. I upgrade to a 30. It's always nice to visit with Evelyn. She has had quite a time this year dealing with her Mom's health as she is far away in Kentucky. Her Christmas trees and decor are still up as they had two celebrations later in January. As Bob and I back out of the driveway she runs out with my invoice that she printed.

Bob and I are famished so we head to Mongolian BBQ nearby on 183. This place is still great. I can eat normally for the first time in four days and I wolf it down. Thankfully I didn't cancel my dental appointment.

We go on to Benold's jewelry on Anderson. They have the cutest terrier mutt named Jack-very calm. We were surprised to see a dog running around in a high-end jewelry store. I leave my engagement ring and band for repair and resizing. They will call with an estimate.

On to the antique mall we like by the Roller Rink. We couldn't remember the back way so we had to take MoPac to 183. The place is still there and still a good mall. We found two jigsaw puzzles that we might need as there is an 80% chance of rain for the next 3 days. Bob found a Black Baby Jitterbug lure. We looked at 3 golfing rabbits chocolate mold but is was missing the base pins so we passed.

By 3:45 we're winging our way home. Traffic is good. We decide to get my prescription filled for my mouth rinse at Walgreen's in Bastrop and get a paper while we're at it. There is a one hour wait so we go home and read the paper. Around 6:00 I go back and pick up my prescription. No one is in there now. Only a $10.00 co-pay. I go back home to have a bowl of soup. I feel so much better than last night. It's 8:50 p.m. and 52 degrees with 31% humidity.