I was at the dentist the other day. It was a delightful experience. Carved out of the ceiling was a window revealing a blue sky framed by pine trees. No pain. I realized that the days of painful dental work was, fortunately, in the past.
Which brings me to Takahi Honda, who was my dentist in Kaimuki when I was just a youngster. I remember the fairly painful treatments vividly. One day, after a career counselling session in high school, I asked him, if he had it do to do over again, would be he a dentist. He said no. Maybe that explained the pain.
I can still remember Dr. Honda’s method to control pain. The single raised digit.
“Bill, if it hurts, just raise your finger’’, which I did frequently and often feverishly, but he never seemed to stop. Which makes sense. A finger is not a pain killer.
Maybe it was a clever way to give me the illusion that I had some control over this situation, and that I could end the pain just by taking some action. This is ridiculous, of course. But, that didn’t stop me from adopting and integrating this behavior into the very fabric of my life for the last sixty years. I am not the sharpest tool in the tool shed.
I wonder if Dr. Honda is still laughing, brown eyes flashing, recalling the symphony of screams that emanated from his office. . well at 105 years old it might be a little difficult. But, maybe it was an object lesson that taking some action, and assuming some of the responsibility for myself might have a positive effect . . maybe, but it certainly didn’t fix the pain!