Appointments
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
We had a
couple of days of appointments this week. On Monday, Barry had his nose
examined again. Apparently, there’s still ‘something’ there, despite it all
having been excavated for the second time three months ago. Now, he’s got to anoint his schnozzle
three times a week with a cream, and then go back to talk about dogs’ diets in another
three months.
Whatever he does, and whoever he sees, Barry opens up all sorts of conversations with people. Debbie, the nose consultant/plastic surgeon, has a twelve-week-old Golden Retriever puppy, and they were discussing its dietary requirements.
On other occasions, he will be discussing the First World War (a particular interest of his) photography, space exploration, the origins of the Internet, and a myriad other things that fascinate him. By contrast, I am quite tight-lipped, and discuss only the things for which my appointments are made. Barry is a talker, and I am a listener, so our partnership works well. To be fair, he also listens extremely carefully, and retains information like a sponge.
Yesterday, he had appointments with the hygienist and the dentist, and today it was my turn. I found that the gap created by the extraction of my molar had affected my speech – one less surface for my tongue to strike against. I am accustomed to it now and no-one else has commented that my speech is less clear than it ever was. Anyway, Vishal explained the options, but he’s going to be a little disappointed in me, since I’ve thought about it again and decided to do without an implant, bridge, or denture. If I were still talking for a living, I might think differently about it, but I’m not, so I won’t.
Then I saw the hygienist, a lovely young woman who is always very encouraging. She chatters the whole time she’s working, but she’s not attempting to have a conversation. She seems to be telling herself what she has to do next. It’s really pleasant listening to her as she almost sings her instructions to herself above the noise of whichever tool she’s using.
So, that was the excitement for today.
We were promised rain. We had a small amount during the night – about one millimetre. There was thunder and a short downpour when Barry was out with the dogs, but that was it. The sun is shining in a watery sort of way.
No doubt, when the forecast rain does fall in earnest, it will be a deluge of Biblical proportions.
