| Crooked Smiles 11 |
| No part of these works shall be used in whole or part without written consent from the authors. All rights reserved Crooked Smiles - Copyright � 2003 - 2005 |
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| THAT'S NOT SO BAD "Oh, that's not so bad." Been told that a dozen times or more... "Not like it's gonna kill ya." "Folks with a lot worse." "It'll be gone in no time flat." "Be grateful it's not a stroke." "Bell's palsy? Thought you'd been to the dentist." Got that a lot too, so I'm finally going to the dentist So I can reply "Yeah...been to the dentist." If I complain about the eye (don't we love the sensation of carrying a bucket of sand in the eye 24/7), I feel duty bound to follow up with "...but I know there are folks with so much worse On their plates." Great - Bell's AND guilt for not having worse. Go about your business, the FAQs tell you. Bed rest Won't help. Then why is it I feel so tired so much Of the time? ...and if you're so foolish as to leave home without Eye drops, you politely ask the driver (I don't drive Much these days; patched and one-eyed behind the wheel Takes a lot of getting used to) to stop off so you can Get some eye lube..ha, ha, yeah.. "WD-40 for the eye?Ha, ha, nooo, let's NOT go to the Jiffy Lube; Funny, though." I'm out of sorts, grumpy? "Sorry, I'll try to be jollier." After all, it's only Bell's palsy...not cancer or Something dire like that. "What'd you say? Didn't understand..." This is like having marbles in your mouth - clarity Seems to be a thing of the past; slurring s's, sssounding like a leaky tire, fffflying off the hook Simply because I was once so resonant of voice (in my humble opinion) and now don't care To sing along out loud to my favorite songs... Even if I'm alone. Looking as though I'm Attempting to talk around a corner, lopsided With an eye brow headed south to be with its Droopy lid, holding court over a somehow Simultaneously watering and irritatingly dry Eye, red in its socket; perhaps it's embarassed that It only is afflicted by Bell's, not some other, more Ominous condition. Seven, eight weeks, no improvement.. "Oh...you STILL got that thing?" "You should use some Visine; that'll make it look better." (No, I should NOT, but you get tired of explaining) "Bell's palsy? What the heck is that?" "I've been to the dentist..." "Oh...that's not so bad." Gary |