|
Knowledge is power.
You know I’ve heard it, read it, and even said it myself for a long time now. But I don’t think I really understood, until recently, the extent of its veracity and how simply fundamental it is to the global population.
Accompanied Dave to the dentist today. Maybe in the States I wouldn’t have, but things like this take on more importance when you’re in unfamiliar territory. A dentist who speaks English was recommended to us. I was happily surprised to find that the dentist is a woman. Turns out she was educated in Germany and when she speaks English it is with a German accent. All of the magazines in her office were in German too. The office was modern and she seemed to know what she was doing. Dave explained his past dental history to her: his bout with braces as a teenager and then the jaw surgery just a couple of years later. She said to him that the teenage years were too late to start moving teeth around and that had he been in Germany they would have done a better job. At first I chuckled at her German nationalism, and thought how she was not factoring in the poverty of Dave’s early years and how that probably contributed to his late start with dental work. Later I realized that she was probably right, since last I heard Germany leans socialist and everyone has access to healthcare. She did a lot of work on him and it was about $20 cheaper than the States (or at least our dentist in Seattle). It reaffirmed my belief that even if the Clintons’ zeal for healthcare reform was misdirected, they are right in knowing that something has to change.
It rained all day today; a rare event for this place. It is disturbingly reminiscent of a winter day in Seattle; the dampness was inescapable and it permeated to the bone. We were really cold when we got home from the dentist. For once the overheated apartment was a comfort. I convinced Dave to take an overdue sick day so he could stay home where it’s cozy. It felt like Sunday.
|
future
past
index
|