Endodontist. I'd never been to one before. But I have now. I took the nitrous oxide, so whatever horrors were back there -- in nitrous world -- I'm not sure I noticed them at all.
There was I, thinking "I exist! I am not just a tooth!" and "I wonder if women experience work in their mouths differently from the way men do, given the closer similarity of the structure of the mouth and the genitalia. It must be more disturbing, this invasion of the mouth."
And then there was the gurgling of the endodontist's stomach, which was right next to my ear, producing a cascade of thoughts:
1. What is that word for stomach gurgling? Something with -ygmy...[ANSWER: Borborygmi! Onomatopoeia -- transliterated by the Greeks.]
2. Remember that old George Carlin routine about stomach gurling, from back in the early days was Carlin was sweet and talked about childhood? It's very funny.
3. On the saddest day of my life, I sat at a funeral for a 22-year-old woman. Next to me was her grandfather, whose innards were waterfalls, the worse case of stomach gurgling I'd ever heard. The forces of deepest sorrow and crazy hilarity were in a death struggle for dominion over my soul. At one point the old man apologized to me, even though he couldn't control it -- his body's absurd expression of grief.
4. What else belongs on this list I'm going to put on my blog? Why, the very fact that I'm in this condition making a list of things to put on my blog.
August 4, 2005
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12 comments:
William James experimented with nitrous oxide, and wrote
"Hogamus higamus, man is polygynous.
"Higamus hogamus, womnan's monogamous."
He records, with humor so dry he is not much credited for it, that at the time he thought this profound.
Larry: Just a typo. Thanks for the heads up.
Well, since Ann has clearly inhaled, there goes her SCOTUS nomination...
;-)
The question is: will I use my codeine prescription?
- I see the wags are coming out in full force again - and why not, eh? Your post made me laugh and a good laugh was much needed ( ron gets the wag award so far)
Force Force Wag!
I like it!
sigh...
I meant to say Full Force Wag!
perhaps I was hittin' the ol' nitrous myself...
Ron: Yeah, I was wondering...
Larry: At about 10 pm last night, I was wishing I had. But I survived. If I'd had it, I would have taken it out of fear I'd keep waking up from pain. So now I'm glad I didn't have it. And I had a normal night's sleep.
Have you been reading Kundera lately? If not, you might enjoy his Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Why do I mention this now? Well, to the best of my recollection, in it he has two long and relevant passages--one is about listening to a woman friend's gurgling digestion, and the other about a humorous event that happened at a solemn funeral, and the crowd's futile attempt to keep from laughing.
Neo-Neocon: I haven't read that, but I have seen the "Chuckles the Clown" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Ann, I highly highly recommend Kundera. Better than Chuckles the Clown, IMHO.
Although he's witty, Kundera is serious, too, and his books are a strange blend of politics, philosophy, humor, and sex. His Book of Laughter and Forgetting seems more relevant these days than ever. I've discussed it a couple of times on my blog in relation to recent events, here and here.
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