Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Tooth. The Whole Tooth. (And Nothing But the Tooth.)

Yesterday, before we went to sleep.
Before I packed up all my things.
Before we ate pieces of cheese.
Before we stopped because Clara said she needed to fart. After which she walked a little further stating, "I should get out of the light. I'm going to fart in those shadows."
Before we embarked on the long walk home.
Before we ate at Le Happy which is a delightful creperie.
We went swimming at Clara's community center.

La la la it felt so good. I did a 500 after not being in water since probably November I think? Anyway, Clara bopped along beside the lanes kickboarding and smiling. We both felt cleansed, renewed, baptized, and exercised after a morning of gluttony. (We ate a large breakfast and then walked down the street to have milkshakes and a big brownie.) After my laps I played a bit in the shallower free end of the pool. I did a very long and relaxing handstand and popped up into the air. But, that's only want I thought would happen. I actually scraped my mouth on the side of the cement wall scccrapppppecrunnnnnchOUCH! I floated slowly up in a sea of red.

I gripped my hands over my mouth. Goodbye front teeth I knew. Goodbye. The blood kept coming as I felt for the chips. Maybe they could be glued back in. Clara saw me from a distance, red and scared. Her eyes got huge. "Can you see I'm bleeding?" I asked. A very clear yes it was smeared on my face.

I felt embarrassed and didn't want attention because I know blood in pools means all sorts of crazy precautions. I got out, went to the locker room, spit in the sink, and cringed to look:

I had cut my canine tooth against my lip. A little tiny hole was there. No teeth were chipped. I gurgled some water. The bleeding was over. We laughed and laughed. It didn't hurt! I sucked in my lip. We got into the hot tub. We sat alone, quiet, boiling. I prayed, "I am Good. I am Whole." I was.

This morning the tingling is gone. The wound has healed.


Hey! Hoboman. Hey! Daper Dan. You've both got your style, but brother you're never fully dressed without a smile."

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