WOULDN'T YOU THINK YOU WOULD GET OVER FEAR OF THE DENTIST?

I would like to finish my pumping gas problem (which still goes on) but something else has come up. You know, when you get pretty old, your teeth are also getting old. No matter how much time and money have been expended on your mouth, it never seems to reach a point of stasis. You can be eating spinach salad, as I was, and a large part of tooth falls onto the plate. That means a crown, and a fearful visit for me.

Dentristry has come a long way and I recognize that, but I have a phobia which goes back to childhood. I had many cavities, for no known reason, and my father believed in taking care of all of them. Every Saturday we would drive into Cincinnati for a visit to this sadistic torturer, Dr. Fetter. It must have been before the discovery of novacaine, or perhaps that Dr. Fetter liked to see young children suffer because of some preverse quirk of his own. At any rate, it was agony and I have never gotten over it. I am not afraid of libeling Dr. Fetter as I am sure he is long since dead and you cannot libel the dead. Did you know that? (I once did work on defamation cases, so I know it). I hope Dr. Fetter is in one of the circles of Hell, you pick the one.
At any rate, I am set to go to the dentist next week and as the day grows near I become increasingly apprehensive. I am afraid of the gooey stuff the dentist uses to make an impression - it seems to take forever to set up, during which time I am in panic. I don't know whether to take two valium or just one before I go. I plan to take my iPod nano and put it on cheerful pieces like "Strike Up the Band".