Friday, May 12, 2006
The perfect set of teeth..
Ok so don't laugh at the Miami Vice Tux, two other guys at Prom wore the same exact color. Anyway .. I was 17, my braces of 8 years had just come off and I was showing a perfect set of pearly whites. It's funny how if we aren't careful and we don't pay attention, things get out of hand. By the time I was 21 I had started smoking and soon after began to neglect my teeth a bit. I have always brushed religiously, but if you avoid the semi-annual cleanings and develop a grinding habit, brushing alone can't save you. I was lucky for the most part I have hard strong teeth that can (and have) taken a beating over the years.
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Somehow I never developed those scary dental diseases such as Gingivitis or Peridontitis but I did get a few cavities which I wasn't always so eager to run off and have filled. Long story short, by the time I was divorced, the dentist was the last place I wanted to go and in the 8 years since I've been maybe 6 times (3 of which have been in the last month). I am on a mission now to stay the path and keep going until everything is in order, which according to my dentist is 2 fillings and possibly a root canal. That's cool I can deal with the minor discomfort involved in shooting me up with novacaine and drilling those babies clear. What I can't deal with so well is what it costs...YIKES! I have full dental coverage, and today went and had tooth numero uno filled. AFTER insurance it came to $108. I have one more to do and the root canal (which will cost me in the vicinity of $300, but they are allowing me to make 3 payments).
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Thank god I have some help or I couldn't do this. So next time you see someone with less than perfect teeth and you snicker to yourself, "oh my god why doesn't snaggle tooth get that shit fixed!!" think again about how Snaggle might not be able to afford what has become an expensive luxury, having decent looking white teeth.
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This leads into my next subject, smoking. I have decided to quit altogether, shooting for Monday. Ok some of you might say I will chicken out by then and it's always easier to make these kinds of plans in advance only to crumble into your addiction when the day arrives. Well I feel strongly that won't happen, I need to make some day to day changes in my life and behavior to accomplish this, but hey I've given up drinking now for 3 months, have become one lean mean machine since July of last year and can have incredible discipline once motivated and with some time behind me. I relize this reduction thing isn't working, I need to do it cold turkey. So... here is my announcement (mainly for my self, certainly not to be overly dramatic)
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Monday May 15th, 2006 I will quit smoking entirely.
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there, it's been typed here in bloggerland and I have something to live up to or risk looking like a total whimp-loser. No longer will the little C at the bottom of the post sit beside a number larger than zero. Send me your positive energy and suggestions guys, I will probably need it. I've already quit Coffee for Tea in my first attempt to shake the vicious habit (quit things which you associate with having a smoke they say) and now I will have to quit the tea as well. I am not going to get all worked up about it between now and Monday, but it will be in the back of my mind, thinking of what I can do to make it happen with ease. I have faith.
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(Anderson, Gloria & Carter about 1983)
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My friend Sangroncito put up a touching post yesterday on Anderson Cooper and the similarities between the tragic death of the Reporter's brother Carter in 1988 and Sang's own young brother's untimely death, both attributed to depression. I remember all too well when Carter died, jumping from his mother's arms out of her Gracie Square Apartment window. I cannot imagine a more painful experience for a mother to endure. She is certainly a strong woman to have survived it, I can't say I would be able to.
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On one of my April Way Back Wednesday posts (the 19th I think) I focused on my Gram and her ancestral ties to the New York Vanderbilt family. It was called "Grammy & The Commodore" if I recall correctly and took me a while to get all the info together, only to be one of the permanent casualties of my Blog deletion on the 27th of last month. Unlike so many others I have since found and am in the process of restoring (there were 325+) it does not turn up in full in any cached web search engines. I don't really care to re-write it all at the moment, maybe later. In the mean time Brad pointed out that as a relation to Gloria, my Gram would also then be a relation to Anderson (who lately has taken more of the limelight than his mother ever did when I was a kid). I was actually able to meet and speak with her my freshman year of college and exchange some genealogical information about our common ancestors. She was very gracious and sweet. I will never forget that day.
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Sangroncito emailed me asking how we were related so I fired up Family Tree Maker to get the exact name date info and transferred it via my digital camera into a jpg file.. which I am uploading here:
It is a descendency chart from "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt to both my grandmother (Claire Arnett) and Anderson. As you can see by the caption on the bottom they are exact 4th cousins, despite the age difference. That is due to Gloria's age (43) when Anderson was born and as well her father Reggie's age (44) when she came into the world. You can read more about Gram's 3rd Great Grandfather The Commodore by clicking on his name above. He was a fascinating man for sure, and whose likeness stands in front of Grand Central Station in NYC.
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Laters :)
S83 C13 152
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I so looooveee reading all the genealogical info you are so amazing at digging up! It fascinates me to no end!
Ooooh! I love those teeth! My latest crown, with insurance, cost me $350!!!! Ridiculous!!!!
You don't need to give up tea. Try drinking either green tea or kukicha tea. The benefits are amazing, and there is not enough caffeine for it to be a problem. Loverboy is not here for me to ask him but I think that they both are great anti-oxidants and would actually help you rather than hinder you in quitting smoking. It's simply a matter of what tea to drink rather than to drink or not to drink tea, you know?
And hey, if you have any questions or need any tips or help email me. Loverboy is a doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine so anytime you have any questions about anything let me know!
And good luck! I know you can do it!
I was fascinated by your post before and it was great to read it again as a reminder how you fit into that family. I seriously don't ever remember knowing that Anderson was her son though...doi.
As for smoking, I quit this past January, however I had ONLY been smoking for a few years. I can't really say how I did it...I know my dad quit cold turkey. Just stopped one day that was it. Mom was a little tougher...she switched to small cigars and then tapered down until she quit. Neither parent has smoked since and that was 30 years ago.
As for Sangroncito's post...that was by far very bizarre. So many likenesses and Sang even resembled Anderson somewhat. Interesting indeed.
You quitting smoking is the best news I've heard in a while.
It must be cool being related to so many famous people. The biggest name we've got in my family is my great-grandfather's brother who was a horse thief and tracked down and shot by the local sheriff in a shoot out.
Real illustrious, I know.
Oh and don't worry, with how cute your face is and that sparkling smile, I didn't even notice the tux was purple.
Luv ya
but you're right. i HAVE to go see a dentist periodically. otherwise, my teeth will be in bad shape. actually, i'm scheduled to go in two weeks to have cavity filling.
I wish I could go see a dentist. Not sure when that's going to happen but after the last time (it had been maybe 10 years), all I needed was a deep cleaning. Still...too expensive without insurance for me so...it's still Toms Of Maine toothpaste and scrubbin :)
And I'll say it again...no matter what age you are, you've got a great smile and you're always adorable.
And you look adorable in that tux, but that's nothing new.
cheers,
D
:-)
sangroncito: I floss regularly, and it evidently shows (according to the dentist). Smoking is a nasty habit I agree, soon it will be in the past.
Scotty: I never knew you were smoking this past January, I guess I assumed you never did. Good for you!
hanuman: Thank you, I do too!
Scott: Thanks, and yea it is a nasty habit I need to lose.
jim: Wow a whole year, you inspire me man! Sometimes I think it was the smoking which helped me to give up the others.
polt: Wow.. you are a lucky one, it's very addicting (obviously). I still hate the smile in that picture BIG TIME.
Marco: Thanks! Glad to see you blogging more.
neil: I don't miss my teen years so much, but it would be nice to be that young again!
brite: I just had a cavity filled last night, I had absoultely no pain.
tornwordo: Thanks, keep your fingers crossed for me!
michael: I might just take you up on the phone call now and again, thanks!
daniel: I have quit before also, a couple years ago I made it 4 months, but I didnt want to quit as much then as I do now.
doghigh: Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy!
michael: Smoke away? Hmm.. I will have to look into that right now.
THANKS!