Smile America
SMILE AMERICA
This entry was posted in Culture, Family, Health, humanity, humor, kids, New York City, parents, words and tagged babies having babies, Healthcare, Raising children with care, Urban Life. Bookmark the permalink.
I cannot lie. I would have cringed to walk into such a waiting room. Unsupervised children left to their devices often leads to chaos and frustration for the others.
You, however, turn this into a loving and caring moment. Now all I can think of is: “You is kind, you is smart, you is important”… You, Susannah, is kind, you is loving, you is making a difference…
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It’s called what they offer, and everything is down graded but their fees. I have a cracked back tooth my guy wants $1750 to do. They charge $1100 and the insurance picks it up, hence, why I’m in Tombstone…come to find out they don’t cover back teeth, feel they’re not important. I want to bomb SMILE AMERICA, BUT…ALAS…THERE ARE ALL THOSE KIDS TO THINK ABOUT.
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Ugh… I don’t even have insurance anymore so everything done to this here mouth costs me moolah. I need some work done on gums but keep putting it off.
Of course they don’t cover back teeth. What the fuck? What do you mean they don’t cover back teeth? That is the stupidest-ass thing I have ever heard.
I shall help light the fuse. We’ll just take the kids out first.
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Don’t wait. Self-care is very important. I’m putting it on a card. We both DESERVE a healthy mouth.
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I know it. Just a tad tight at the moment…
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I’m just sayin’
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I’m just listenin’
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There’s that two step duet again. 🙂
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Yes ma’m! And why not? I think we do it quite well.
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You can lead…:)
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I’ll try and do my best.
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Not sure whether I answered this yet…wordpress is dropping acid again it seems, but our best is pretty admirable, this I know. Two independent Chicas, still standing going strong after so many hurts and hits to recover from. Joan of Arcs…one in Canada, one here…:)
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You didn’t. WordPress can be such a pain in the ass.
Yes. We are that! Joan of Arcs. I’ll skip the burning at the stake, though, if you don’t mind .
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Yeah, that wasn’t her best day. Lore has it, her heart would not burn and it’s someplace in Rouen, where it took place. I don’t know. But, she’s one of my idols right up there with Audrey, Jackie and Patti Smith.
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I heard that rumour too. She was a warrior in the truest sense.
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That Joan. God love her…:)
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Indeed.
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PS The Help is one of my favorite reads. 🙂
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It was a wonderful read and somehow I knew you’d know exactly what it was 😉
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Yeah…that story gets to me, and we know, it was a whole lot worse than that. sigh
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Of course it was. The actors (actresses? Do we still use that term?) were all brilliant, weren’t they?
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I loved the mean one. Ron Howard’s daughter. And Mini and the sexy one who couldn’t cook. And of course the woman who played the lead. Viola Davis. I just love her. My only dislike who I loved on West Wing was Alison Janney. I felt she was miscast. Mustn’t forget Cecily Tyson who lives near me. So touching were those performances.
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Yes! I was going to say Bryce did a fantastic job.
Now that you mention it, Alison Janney, who I agree is fabulous, did not fit in this one…
I adore Cecily Tyson – now I have the image of her shuffling in the restaurant, her too-big shoes making that drag and clop sound, serving up ribs to the snooty lawyer “Secret’s in the sauce!”
Now I have a hankering to re-watch two movies!
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Me too.
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SB,
At first I thought this was going to be a pep talk for the good old US of A, after that extravaganza in D.C. the other day. And to think, you didn’t even get a discount for being a kiddie supervisor while you waited. What’s up with that?
And is it not incredibly disturbing that we have so many kids who have diabetes in this country? Is no one concerned? Because I know one thing for certain, Big Food isn’t. Not in the least. But we should be. Very.
Outside of that loose thought, this one made me smile. So yanno . . . mission accomplished. 🙂
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To think I went through all of that to be told, my spanking new insurance plan has little use of back teeth…would have saved me well, all moot to use one of my favorite words…and I would never have seen Shalisha pole dance without a pole.
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Moot is in the file.
Shalisha . .I dig that name.
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It says everything you need to know without mincing words. Harrumph
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I love words like that.
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Files are bulging.
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It’s a modern day battle.
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One that can be blissfully fought. 🙂
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Blissful battles rock.
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Bliss, another favorite word. There’s a Bliss Avenue in Queens. Would love that as an address. 🙂
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Bliss Avenue is at the intersection of Harmony Street, ain’t it?
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There was a Harmony in Connecticut, where I grew up…:)
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That’s not a coincidence . .
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PS I thought of penning commentary on the Trumpet’s idea of patriotism, but said, fuck it. Ir woulda just ruined my day.
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I totally feel you on that. For the first however long after 2016, I could not write about anything to do with what happened.
I eventually was able to bring myself to write on him, but I ain’t down with camping out on the topic. It’s just bad juju.
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Let’s take Bill Clinton for instance. After he has sex…IT WAS SEX…YES IT WAS…lies about it, gets impeached that was nothing more than a wrist slap, and the U.S. of A. loved and still loves him anyway. My point? He set the mood for Trumpets Blaring. NOBODY CARES WHAT TRUMP DOES. That money he spent that should have come out of his own pocket since it was more a spectacle to light up his 2020 campaign than to honor the military. was a crime, one of his many, but…NOBODY FUCKEN CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😅. You want to honor the military? Go to Arlington and pray. Her 3 but good sense.
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That is the best three cents you can find.
You’re right, Clinton showed ’em how it’s done. And Trump once said that he could shoot somebody in Madison Avenue and not lose any voters. Damn if that doesn’t describe his following.
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DID HE REALLY SAY THAT???? OH MY
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He sure did. And he was damn proud of it too. And so were all the Yahoos who cheered him on, as if it were some dank auditorium in Berlin, circa 1933.
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I just saw Hitler at the stadium Heiling.
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I have had the same dentist for 25 years. I don’t have insurance now but if I had it and he wasn’t on it I would give up the insurance and still go to him. Because I no longer have insurance he gives me a bit of a discount. Maybe partly because I helped put his kids through college. As for insurance not covering back teeth…that is stupid!
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Apparently it’s the norm. My dentist also gives me a 10% discount and will let me pay it off, no interest. It’s just a whopping debt I so can’t face at the moment. But I will since I’m a huge advocate of self-care.
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It amazes me how much dental work costs. But if we don’t have it done we will be miserable and the cost will just go up when we give up and get it done. If I didn’t have so much invested in my mouth I could have bought a bigger condo.
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I know that’s not funny, yet it is. It’s true. There’s an upside in maintaining things. The longer you wait, the more it will be.
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That environment would drive me bonkers.
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I just touched the iceberg. I never got into the decor that was early Ozark short of a velvet Elvis brushing on the wall.
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This is all quite a sad commentary on child rearing and dentistry. YOU are the bright spot – truly. You do know how to tell the story. And no use for back teeth? WTF?!! Are you supposed to nibble like a squirrel the rest of your life?
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They don’t feel, since you don’t see them and you have so many others, they’re not needed. No, I did not make this up. But here’s the kicker, if you don’t fix a cracked tooth, you’ll eventually need root canal. HELLO!!! As far as the Shalishas of the world go, they’ll all be pregnant by the time they’re 12. Though it may come off glib, I say it with great regret. I left there with more than a tooth ache. Sigh
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Thankfully, I’ve never had such an entertaining visit to a dentist. You were so kind to the children, as you always are.
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How can ya not. It was like Dickens downtown. It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times…a little poetic license there Anne.
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I’m sure you give from the best of times.
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The Best Times of our Lives…a film with Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy? You’re very Myrna Loy by the way. Sassy and snappy, chic and smart.
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I don’t know that film, but thanks for saying I’m like someone special.
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You never saw The Best Years of our Lives, 1946 film directed by William Wyler? Rent it. John would love it and I think you would too. It’s about a soldier coming home after World War II. Very touching wonderful film. And yes, you have a Myrna Loy quality. Special indeed.
🙂
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With six people still under our roof, we’re not watching anything for another week! Thanks for the suggestion.
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It’s been around since 1946, it will surely wait…:)
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Cute story. Free spirited kids can always bring a tear the eyes!
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It was more than that. This particular one needed some care.
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Susannah, your compliment will stay with that little girl for the rest of her life. I’m not exaggerating, she will always remember it. The fact that she didn’t just say ‘thank you’ tells me that compliments might not come her way too often. As for the diaper imprint, I don’t think I would have handled it as well as you did.
I have a niece on Pookie’s side who looked twelve when she was only six, too. As a young adult she got the stomach surgery thingy and is still the delightful person she has always been. Let’s hope the little girl’s future is as bright.
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I hope so. Her mother looked as if she could use a tutorial on gentle parenting, but who am I to judge. I will remember that dance for the rest of my life. She made Madonna look tame.
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That’s sweet. One of the things I liked about teaching elementary school was how friendly the kids were and how enthusiastic they could be. It’s something they often lose when they get into the older grades.
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That’s a nice way of looking at it. You are always so positive David. A joy at this end.
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I thought of your post today when I was in the coffee shop and a little kid broke away from his mom and went straight for my baseball hat, which was sitting on the table next to me. The mom leapt and intercepted him before he could grab it but of course I wouldn’t have cared if he had played with it as long as I got it back eventually.
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But of course you’re a secret Franciscan at heart, just one who wears a cap. 🙂
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AH children. I was asked at a family gathering last night if I wanted to raise another child someday. When I said “no”, her answer was “you mean you aren’t interested?” I said, “no. I said I will not”
Then I said, “she would have to be one special lady to get me to want to raise another child” She looked at me and said, “I meant, like, a grand child.” I really didn’t think I would be raising my grandchildren, though I know it happens…
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Idle conversation can be irritating. People should have a ten second delay button before they speak. A yield sign, if you will.
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Oh my, yes….would have saved my bacon numerous times.
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