One of the highest compliments one West Virginian can pay another West Virginian is ..............

"Nice tooth".

I was reminded of this erroneous slight of us here in the mountain state when I went to the dentist day before yesterday with a five alarm tooth ache. Second one extracted since I moved here. Maybe it's the water.

How much Doc? I have no dental insurance. Fifteen hundred root canal and cap, One seventy seven fifty extraction. Pull it Doc!!!

First one about five years ago came out easy. This one not so. Doc rocked back and forth over and over, lots of sounds going through my head. Finally....crack. Half my tooth fell off his tongs and landed between my gum and my cheek. I reached in pulled it out and handed it to him. That will be $177.50 Doc I said.

Got out the power saw and sawed the rest of the tooth in half and pulled out each of the roots individually.

Soft foods, yogurt, and oatmeal gets old. To bad fluoride wasn't available when I was growing up. On the other hand my son was born too smart, too good looking, and with perfect teeth. Takes after his mother. Three cavities in his 55 years.

I'm working toward that one tooth thing.

Bob