Nebulous Mooch

The other day I was talking with my mother on the phone and I mentioned something about my teeth. I was having problems with a filling so the dentist took it out and put in a temporary filling. If I have no problems with the temporary, she’ll replace it with a normal filling.

When I told my mother this she said, “I’m surprised you don’t put your own fillings in.”

Of course, I had never heard of such a thing so I laughed. “So you put in your own fillings now,” I joked.

“Yes, I do.” The pride in her voice was evident.

My mother has bought temporary filling stuff (I don’t know what to call it), a dental mirror, a dental syringe (for spraying water to clean out small spaces not injecting pain killers), and a dental hook from the drug store. She uses the hook to clean the tartar from her teeth on a regular basis. If she has a cavity she cleans it out with the syringe and then puts in the filling.

“What about drilling out the decayed part of the tooth?” I asked.

“The drilling is just to seat the filling. It’s not necessary. It’s just for show,” she said.

Needless to say, Mr. Dentist Pants doesn’t approve.

While walking in the park we saw an alligator. It swim under the boardwalk we were on. We have seen this alligator before. It is rumored that it has a nest near one of the trees a few feet from the boardwalk. The last time we were at the park it was lying by the tree. We thought it was dead because it had a Pepsi can and branches on its back. It even looked dusty. After discusses at length how long we thought it was dead and whether a park ranger will take it away, the alligator suddenly shook its head.

This time my husband took its picture. I wouldn’t do it because I was too afraid to lean over the railing to get a good shot. This is the picture. I have a question for all of you. How many alligators are in this picture? My husbands says there is only one in the center of the picture beneath the branches. I say there is a second one in the left corner. He disputes this saying that there was only one alligator.

There’s something about a dog that can even entertain people who claim not to like dogs. That’s why they’re used in so many advertisements. Of course, it’s appropriate to use a dog to sell dog food or dog medication or some other thing a dog might use, but when is the last time you saw a dog using toilet paper.

My sister recently bought a dog. It’s a cute mutt with one ear that flops down and one that stands up. My parents visit her more often than they used to just to see the dog. My father scolds it like a child. My mother uses her friendliest voice to talk to it.

“You need to have a kid,” my sister said to me one day. “Mom and Dad are ready for grandchildren.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“The other day they showed up at the dog park with the camera to take pictures of my dog. I mean really! It’s a dog!”

My sister is currently dog-sitting a goofy boxer. It’s bigger than her dog and in need of more attention. She had a cookout for the holiday. It rained so the party turned into a bunch of people sitting around the living room watching the dogs play. They rolled around on the floor wrestling and bashing into every one’s shins and the party guests were all enthralled. When it was time to go even my stepson, who is terrified of dogs, didn’t want to leave. He was enjoying watching the dogs.