Flashback Friday # 166

Addition By Subtraction

Greetings one & all. Welcome back to another post about the other world that I used to live in (the past). My recent run-in with the dentist brought this story to my remembrance. I am beginning to wonder if i have repeated myself on any of these stories, but I've not had anyone tell me that I have.

I have discussed the many health problems that Dad had. He had several mild heart attacks and quitting smoking had helped, but he still wasn't in real good health. Part of the reason for this was that he had terrible dental hygiene. No dental hygiene would be a better phrasing. Due to this, his teeth were poisoning his system. There was only one alternative.

Dad went in to have all of his teeth pulled. The doctor assured him that by removing his teeth, his health would dramatically get better. When he came home (Mom went with him to drive him home) he looked really wiped out. He didn't go to work for about a week (he had some vacation time saved up). His diet consisted on all soft foods. He lost a lot of weight until his gums toughened up enough to begin to eat semi-solid foods.

Once his gums toughened up, Mom approached him about getting dentures. He said he wasn't ready for them yet. Give him some more time for his gums to toughen a little more. He knew several people with dentures that had problems with them.

Months passed. A full year passed. He was eating almost everything that he had eaten before he had his teeth out. Mom asked again if he was ready to get dentures. Dad couldn't see why, since the only things he wasn't eating was nuts. He decided to forgo dentures. As the doctor had said, his health increased by leaps & bounds.

I didn't realize just how tough his gums had become. I was laying on the couch, with my feet on his lap. I was lazily wiggling my big toe. He reached out & grabbed it,playfully. I looked at him and asked "What are you going to do, bite me?" With that he opened his mouth wide and chomped down on my toe. YEOW!!! I jumped off the couch and hopped around the living room while he laughed his head off.