Went to the Dentist and came away feeling as if I had a mouthful of horseshoes. Also felt very stupid at my inability to plan, or to think ahead.

When I was scheduled for the appointment, my chief concern was arranging to arrive on time. I gave no thought to the event, or its aftermath. This was positive in one sense. I have an historic fear of dentists, of high pitched drills and other apparatus being worked inside my mouth. Normally, just the thought of dental work would give me the chills.

This fear response was not present on this occasion. Nor was it present on two prior dental visits. I had no fear at all. My belief is that this is tied in to the injury. It is of a piece with the fact that I have no qualms over my deteriorating financial condition.

Another issue the dental visit threw into relief was my lack of planning. Of any form of planning at all. I felt very stupid over this fact. I was advised to eat only soft foods and realized I had made no provision for such a diet. The first dentist advised me against exercise for 3 to 5 days to avoid raising my heartbeat. Yet I needed to leave their office and travel crosstown to a second dental office. Then I parked in my normal parking spot and hiked a mile to the offices of the second dentist, with my mouthful of horseshoes and a lip full of Novocaine. And, after this second visit, I knew I would need to make a third stop to buy groceries

This lack of planning, of being able to consider the future in a constructive way, fits with the fact that almost all of the prior blog entries are factual, descriptive of immediate experience. The few postings in which I attempt to contemplate forward planning were extremely difficult to write. Even there, I wrote as best I was able, and then had to return in an attempt to pick out the critical themes and place these in an update at the bottom of the post.

Update – Mouthful of Horseshoes

Just had a phone call from the dentist checking to make sure that all was OK. Exemplary service! And much appreciated!