For a number of years I have used the screen name “Duke of Earle.” It was handy as a screen name for IM programs and other applications where a degree of anonymity was appropriate.
It’s a play on my last name, of course. But the origins lie in Gene Chandler’s number one song of 1962.
Yes, I’m old enough to remember that. (Thanks for asking. Thanks a LOT!) Even though many of you may not be old enough, if you’ve ever heard the song on an oldies’ station you’ll probably never forget the pounding, “Duke, duke, duke, Duke of Earl, duke, duke, Duke of Earl…”
I was in high school when that song was popular, and had to go through the inevitable comments from “friends” making the connection between the song and my name. There was also a period when I was called, “Earle the Pearl.” Which later evolved into, “Earle, the Pearl, the Girl.”
No, I’m not looking for sympathy.
My point is that I am soon advancing to a higher state of royalty.
Dukes don’t wear crowns, but on Monday I will be receiving a crown of solid gold. I will wear it proudly for years.
The bad news is it will be installed on molar number 19 in my lower jaw.
Like many people, I do not look forward to going to the dentist. Also like many people, I go anyway. I’d really like to keep as many of these original issue teeth as I can for as long as I can, so I get them cleaned and checked twice a year.
I began to notice a while back that ol’ number 19 was becoming sensitive to hot and cold stuff. So, did I go straight to the dentist to have it checked?
Of course not. I did what most people would do. I waded way out into the middle of that river in Egypt. I told myself the problem was temporary. It’s probably a gum irritation, not a bad tooth at all. The sensitivity will pass.
I ignored it. In fact, sometimes I’d forget completely. Then I’d get thirsty and take a big mouthful of ice water. ZING! Oh, that hurt!
Well, last week I had it checked and found that the river in Egypt was a fraud. The verdict was that I needed a full cast gold crown to cover the tooth surface all the way to the gum line.
Now I have all weekend to look forward to my dentist appointment on Monday. That brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Blue Monday.”
Hey, Fats Domino sang “Blue Monday” in 1957. I wonder if ol’ Fats ever jammed with Gene Chandler?
Maybe I’ll change my handle to “Prince of Earle.”
6 comments:
If it's any consolation, you can still keep your old title because dukes can wear crowns -- coronets, actually.
Good luck on Monday, and I'm talking more about your wallet than anything else!
What a coincident. I had a porcelain crown placed on ole number 19 just two weeks ago due to the same sensitivity you described when eating or drinking anything hot or cold. I too tried to ignore it, but alas...there are some things which will not be denied.
What was really bad is they drilled off some of the corresponding top tooth so it would seat well with my new crown and I'm thinking "hey, you're drilling away part of a perfectly good tooth...what the????"
Of course, at this point you can't say anything because two people have their hands in your mouth along with other torturous paraphernalia (there's a word for you to look up the origin.)
The good news is: that's over now. The bad news is: they found a similar problem on number 18 (it needs a gold crown...I chose white gold because yellow gold's not my color.)
Hope you got that dental insurance all squared away with your new company.
You ladies!
How materialistic of you both to be thinking about cost and money when I'm in such angst about the novocain shots and the DRILLING!
But yes, I'm quite proud of the total health insurance package I've arranged for my new company, including coverage for DENTAL and vision. The hit to my wallet won't be as painful as the procedure. I guess that's a good thing.
Whatta buncha whiners! I've got eight gold crowns. Sheesh...
I'm beginning to think this dental plague is contagious. What do we all have in common??? WE READ THIS BLOG! I, too, have a dental appointment on Monday morning for "sensitivity to cold" on molar 19.
Since we are all running to the dentists with our mouths and wallets wide open, perhaps you should add a tagline for your blog "5 out of 5 dentists agree. This is a good read."
Un-bleeping-believable! Two number 19 temperature-sensitive teeth and one number 18, all within two weeks and all among readers of ROMANTIC RAMBLINGS?
What are the odds?
Then there's Chenoah with a mouthful of gold.
Hmmm. Maybe I can sell my blog-roll list to an aspiring dentist.
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