Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving walk - bad teeth

I walked as about as fast as I could at the Turkey Trot in the Galleria. I slow jogged about 15 minutes of the 98 minutes on the 10k course.

But after looking at previous results I see that my rate has been about the same for a couple of years. I think I pretty much left in all on the course. Yet I ended up about 16 minutes per mile and finished pretty close to last. I was amongst a group of younger people who were simply strolling at an easy pace for them. But I worked pretty hard at it.

I scored some bananas and apples and quite a few "Chew" bars for later. Cool.

Bad teeth. I was born with a lot of good genes. I have a strong heart. Cancer is not a family problem. Most everything else is genetically strong. But for some reason I was born with awful teeth. No one else in my family has such weak teeth. But as a child I had multiple cavities each year. Several teeth had more than one cavity. I had frequent dental appointments and it was just awful. My doctor was a popular children's dentist. I think he did all he could. He was a Christian I realize in retrospect.

As a young man they seemed OK so I let them go. Now I am paying the price for all those cavities. I know I look funny and everything I eat leaves me with stuff between my teeth. I have had pulled quite a few of the cavity filled teeth that eventually died and feel apart. The other teeth have shifted apart. I am using a toothbrushes a lot. We need to get new water pick.

I imagine that I could "fix" them. But it would take several thousand dollars and probably much discomfort. So I am not likely to go full bore. But I have seen my old dentist a few times and I need to make an appointment to see him again about a second tooth. It's going to be a gradual fix.

But when I see the people who go in and out of the clinic next to door to my office I know I have it very good. These people are in very sad shape. They are much more to be pitied than I am. So far my problem teeth are an annoyance, nothing more.

No comments: