Pine Bluff News
By Pat Matheny
Monday, I had another dentist appointment in town.
They installed new upper and lower partial plates in my mouth. That, in turn, caused the tongue to ricochet off objects in my mouth that didn’t used to be there. When I tried to speak, things wouldn’t come out just right. “Shhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet, I’m hunting wabbits”.
When I returned home, Debbie (Ding Dong Lady) was visiting. She was at the dentist at the same time that I was there. She said she heard my voice and tried to yell, but they had her mouth shot full of Novocain and all she could do was grunt. I think Susie understood our conversations, but between Ding Dong’s mumbling and drooling and me talking like Elmer Fudd, I’m not quite sure.
Tuesday morning, I had the first experience of inserting the partial plates on my own. After I figured out which was which, I inserted one and tried for 20 seconds to insert the other, but it wouldn’t fit. After a few selected cuss words, I discovered that I was trying to put the second one over the first…but I’m a quick learner. Brother John, who has full dentures, said both of his plates have come loose at the same time while eating and would get tangled up. He said it wasn’t a pretty situation. I wonder what would be the proper protocol that the ADA recommends for this predicament.
Later in the day, I hit the Shop’n Save in town. I ran into Cookie (Blidgett) Salerno. I told her that she needed to start charging people for stopping in front of her house while they’re waiting to pass through the portable stoplights (Been there three years) that are located at a slip near the back entrance to the power plant. She said that sounded like a good idea since she has to clean up the trash that people throw out while waiting on the light. It was also nice to chat with Bonnie Phillips of Lumberport.
On the way home, I stopped to check on John and Patty. They have their yard and surrounding area looking really nice (Sis has her own 54” cut Kubota), but I hesitate to tell you how much John has spent on material for his yard so far this year.
Wednesday, I mowed and sprayed weed killer on my corner of PB. That would normally take an hour and half, but with Lee stopping by plus shooting the breeze with neighbors Harold and Postal, it took over four hours to complete the tasks. I did enjoy the breaks and conversations. When I was finishing up spraying weed killer around the community center, our neighbor Kevin stopped in his truck and said Susie was outside hollering for me. She had lost track of me again…which is nothing new.
Thursday, I stopped over at the N&J office in town. The newspaper owner has elected to shut down the town office (Been in town for over 100 years). Leigh (Editor) had called Susie and said she wanted me to stop by and pick up the 9”x12” picture of Mom and Dad that has been hanging in the news office for years. As always, it was nice chatting with Leigh. She was in the process of clearing everything out of the old office and setting a new office up in her house. I know it’s a very sad and hectic time for her, but she is a tough lady and will get things organized and up and running.
Friday evening, Lee stopped in for another visit. It was a nice evening and we sat on the patio for over three hours discussing the world and local situations while downing beer. Also, I spotted a male and a female hummingbird at feeders for the first time this year…life is good.
Until next time, have a great week and remember our Veterans.
Pat