I’ve had a pretty good run, as far as my teeth go. I don’t think I had my first recognized cavity until I was 45. I had a first filling go in at the time. Two years later, I had another cavity discovered and filled. Earlier this year, a rear molar went off on me and prompted a root canal and a cap. Tonight, two more tiny holes discovered at the gum line two months ago meant two more fillings to end the day.

I never felt a thing after the topical went on my gums, and then the needle shut down the nerves on the lower right side of my face. Drilling, tapping, swabbing, depressing, biting down, tapping, suction- we’re done, Bruce.

Oh- ok. It’s over.

Four hours of not feeling the right side of my mouth blossoms into a jaw ache and a pulsing pain up and along my right aural canal, up to my right temple.

Ahh, there it is. There it is.

It’s a good thing my memory for physical pain is as poor as it is for storing facts and minutiae. My head hurts tonight. I don’t remember how I felt after the last fixer-upper session.

My blood pressure was high when measured earlier.

Well, we get older. Things change, slow, break. Just part of life.

Good time to go to bed now, though. Make the earache dissipate with slumber.