fracture

Well the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I'm not really sure that applies 100% to the story I'm about to tell, but you can be the judge of that. I just couldn't think of anything more pithy to pair up with the tale on a moment's notice.

I've been told and have read somewhere (don't ask me for the source now) that eating almonds, especially raw and unsalted almonds, is good for your health. In fact it says right here on the can that eating them may reduce the risk of heart disease. So since I have mildly high blood pressure and am one of those "at risk", I thought it would be a nice healthy habit to pick up, plus I really like almonds anyways. It's just that I was used to eating roasted and salted ones, but raw almonds are not that far off in taste and texture so it's a relatively easy switch. So last weekend since we're on a health craze V. and I went to Trader Joe's and I picked up a big bag of raw almonds for me to snack on.

So I'm snacking away at work yesterday, munching on these healthy and heart-friendly almonds while my coworkers are scarfing down the Twix and Reeses Pieces in my candy jar. But late in the afternoon, something goes awry -- I find myself chomping down on something distinctly non-almondlike. Before you think of something horrific (animal part) or something really awesome (10-carat diamond), suffice to say that it was in fact, a fragment of my tooth. Apparently the corner of one of my molars had broken loose and presto, there it is on my desk. Fortunately, the aforementioned coworkers had since departed from my office, perhaps fearing that the look of consternation on my face was going to presage some new dreadful assignment I was about to lay down on them. But no, it was just a molar malfunction.

So I took the morning off today and went to see my dentist, who proclaimed "nice fracture!" and proceeded to saw the top of my tooth off after various needles and Novocaine were bandied about in front of my face. I'm sporting a temporary cap on the injured tooth and they made a casting from my teeth to make me a permanent cap that will be ready in two weeks. I was sorely tempted to inquire as to the price for a full platinum or gold grille but I had a hunch my insurance wasn't going to cover it. It could have been a pivotal point in my life, where my career as a hip-hop star would have taken off, but alas it seems it was not to be. So now I'm back in the office staring at this can of almonds and wondering what's next... am I going to cut the roof of my mouth trying to eat some of my multigrain flake cereal? Or choke on one of the vitamin pills I'm taking? Is there a moral to this story? I am not sure but I guess I'm going to be chewing more carefully for the next few weeks.