Fear and Loathing

I broke a tooth this morning and am now in that state of fear and loathing when you just know it is going start to hurt. (So far it hasn't!) Logically, you know that if it hasn't hurt so far, it probably isn't going to hurt for a while. Whats logic got to do with it????

Since there is no pain, I can't justify calling the emergency number for my dentist (his office hours are Monday thru Thursday). That means I get to spend the weekend in that slightly edgy state where you are sure that at some point major pain is going to arrive. Logically you know that you are not thinking straight, but emotionally you are certain that pain is a possibility. Oh well.

This is the second time in my life I have broken a tooth. The first was many years ago. I was one of those people *blessed* with two sets of wisdom teeth that erupted in full glory in in my early twenties. When they grew in, I could no longer close my jaw fully. Thus they were scheduled for removal at a convenient time in the near future. But that was several weeks away and I had to journey to Iowa to give a symposium at Iowa State. It was winter and the weather was turning bad as the plane left Chicago for Ames. About midway through the flight, one of the wisdom teeth broke.  Once again no pain, but deep fear and loathing. As we landed in Ames, they closed the airport because of the blizzard now going on around us. We can't even see the terminal out the plane windows as we parked because there was so much blowing snow. Now if you haven't been to the Ames Iowa airport, it is important to note that it is many miles from town. And as we enter the terminal, they announce that the only road exiting the airport is closed. We are trapped in the airport until further notice.  Now my fear really kicked up a notch. Nothing like being stranded in an airport terminal, nothing to do but worry,  no possibility of relief, to make you appreciate the fun if it does start to hurt.

To make a long story short, I was really happy to return home and visit my dentist all those years ago.  I suspect that by Monday I will have similar feelings now. At least here I know where my dentist lives and can go knock on his door. Another great thing about living in a small town.