Wisdom Tooth

A few weeks ago I flossed off a crown.  It was unsettling hearing something bouncing around in the bathroom sink (for a second I worried it was a tooth).  I was relieved to discover it was a crown, but then went back to being worried.  My dentist claims that's the best way to lose a crown--by hard flossing, it helps uncover trouble early.

Before the new, permanent crown is installed, I have to decide whether to have the wisdom tooth behind it pulled.  The dentist thinks the wisdom tooth was a contributing factor in losing the crown.

So, what do you think?  Pull the wisdom tooth?  Do you still have your wisdom teeth? 

Why do I keep hearing the sound of a dentist's drill???  You know, this temporary crown is fine...I probably never need to go back to the dentist.  :D


PS - Where's the Tooth Fairy and Crickette (my dentist friends) when I need them???

Broad Brush

What's your demographic profile?  What groups do you belong to? What's your profession?  How old are you?  Are you a member of a religion?  Are you male?  Female?  Caucasian? Asian?  Black?  Don't tell me, just have that info in mind.  Now, of all the groups you could possibly be linked to, is there one group from which I can judge you based on any act ever committed by any other individual within that group?  If you're a teacher, can I blame you because a creepy teacher tried to take advantage of my girlfriend?  Am I responsible for the Holocaust because my dad's family is German?  If you're a police officer, can I assume you shoot people because of their skin color? 

 

I hope you answered no to all of those questions.  The answers are obvious.  And yet many, many people answered "yes" regarding the police officer in Ferguson.  People who weren't there "knew" the facts before there was an investigation.  DC's member of the US House of Representatives said she didn't need to know the facts, because "I know what happened."  All those people knew what happened, but they didn't. 

 

The young man did not quietly surrender as first reported by his friend and, as it turned out, his partner in crime.  However he had lived his life in the past, that day he was willing to use his size to assault people.  He made a series of bad choices that ultimately cost him his life.  The investigation confirmed:

• He robbed a store and had no problem man-handling/intimidating the store clerk.
• Rather than move out of the street as asked, he cursed the police officer.
• He tried to pin the officer in his car, punched him twice and tried to take his gun.
• When instructed to stop, he continued to advance on the officer--he's apparently the one person who didn't put his hands up and say "don't shoot".

It's very sad...for him, his family and the police officer.  Shooting someone is a hard thing to live with, even when the world isn't screaming for you to be jailed (or worse) before an investigation. 

 

People making assumptions without facts before the investigation caused a lot of trouble for that town.  But that has become the norm.  What really blew my mind was that even after the facts became clear, people were still saying the young man had been "executed".  After the grand jury verdict, one person I knew posted comments on-line that shocked me.  I'm going to share two examples that were posted together: 

• "Boston Marathon bomber performed act of terrorism, killed a cop, had shoot-out with police. Brought in alive."  Actually, one bomber was killed and the other was shot several times.  When police caught up to him, he was too weak to resist arrest. 
• "Aurora shooter killed 12 people, injured 70 others. Apprehended & brought in alive. Brown stole cigarettes, was shot 6 times."  The Aurora shooter did not resist arrest when the police arrived, so he lived.  Brown was not shot for stealing cigarettes.  He was shot in what was a life and death struggle that he instigated by attacking a cop and trying to take his gun. 

When I saw those comments (and plenty of others), to me they read "I hope someday to live in a country where you can attack a police officer and try to take his weapon without consequences!"  I don't want to live in that country.

Trends are made up of individual incidents, but we can't assume an individual incident is part of a trend.  You have to wait for the facts.  When you don't and you're wrong, you hand your opponents a credible reason to dismiss what you say.

If you agree with me, great.  If I'm mis-informed, I'm happy to be corrected.  But don't feel obligated to post a comment if you're not comfortable sharing your views on this.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My friend Rooth is hosting a Valentine's themed haiku contest.  The submissions were due earlier this week.  She has published the top four and asked for help in choosing the winner.  Pop over and cast your ballot.

I've posted before (maybe twice) that on Valentine's day we should celebrate friendship too.  Mentioning it a third time seems a little crazy, but where would we be without friends??? 
So, happy Valentine's Day my friends!

PS - I submitted two silly haikus for Rooth's contest, but here's one more:

Valentine’s is here.
Supposed to be for men too.
But where's my candy?

Or flowers?  Why aren't I being taken out???  I'm one-half of a couple, but all the commercials are about what I'm supposed to be doing for her.  What a gyp!!!

(You know I don't feel that way.  But I had to say it to maintain my union card--guys are supposed to complain about Valentine's Day.  But for me, every day is Valentine's Day!)   :)

World View

I remember seeing an interesting little cartoon in a magazine when I was a teenager.  It showed parents bringing a newborn baby home--and then the dad taking off the top of its head so he could cram thoughts and values into the kid's brain.  In the cartoon they were all bad (racism, sexism, hatred, etc.). 

Kids do absorb the values/attitudes around them as they grow up.  But hopefully the majority is good and as they gain life experience they're able to eventually decide for themselves what to keep from those early lessons.  And hopefully they never stop learning, evolving.

So if I channel my parents/grandparents/whoever in a bad way, that's on me.  And if I rebel against what they taught simply for the sake of rebellion, that's on me too.  Regardless of our path in life, as adults we are responsible for how we conduct ourselves, our opinions, how we define right from wrong, how we treat others, etc.. 

We are responsible.

In an upcoming post I'm going to share my views on an item from the news.  Maybe several.  My views lean towards the old-fashioned (not all of them)--all those years living with my grandparents.  But they are my views.  I've had time to edit and shape them over the years and hopefully that will continue.  If you find yourself agreeing with me, great.  If not, that's great too.  Perhaps I can learn something from you!