Tuning Up for Pastries

A girl who works in my dentist’s office was afraid to go to restaurants that had an A in the window because she thought the A meant that terrorists ate there. A for Al Quaida? (In case it’s different where you live, the Health Department issues an A to restaurants that pass their inspections.) The same girl’s boyfriend wanted to see a sunrise over the ocean, so she took him early one morning to Newport (California, not Rhode Island).

This was my first time at this dentist. I wondered about his competence, employing someone as clueless as this girl. Should I leave and face French pastries with a sensitive tooth and a missing filling?

At our age, Mary and I need to be tuned up before we go. My chiropractor is re-sitting my head onto my neck and putting my spine back where it should be. The dermatologist is checking out a spot on my nose that may or may not – you know. Mary is seeing the podiatrist for a corn on her right foot.

We want to be able to walk and eat and ogle easily.

In 1961 we didn’t worry about our health. Who would, at 22? But we had two accidents in France with our Lambretta motorscooter that led to discovering the benefits of universal healthcare. Mary was driving; I was on the back. It was raining both times and the scooter skidded, tipping over and cutting Mary’s leg as she leaped out of the way. Each time, concerned onlookers helped us to the nearest first aid station (or clinic or whatever) where she got inspected and bandaged at no charge. WHO (World Health Organization) ranks France #1 for healthcare.

When my youngest daughter’s babysitter went to Rome for a Catholic holiday, she slipped outside the Vatican and broke her hip. She was well taken care of. WHO ranks Italy at #2.

I think about those generous countries where a poor person is treated with as much respect as a rich person; where all contribute part of their wages to healthcare so everyone can benefit. Not so, here, where tens of thousands quit AARP because it lobbied for a wider healthcare plan for all.

Leaving the dentist’s office, pleased at how brave I had been, and happy that he did a good job, I was less happy to leave behind $222. (That still beats the $20,000 I had to pay when, at 64-3/4 years and uninsured, I had two stents put into a coronary artery.)

Bring on the pastries!

But what about the A in the window that kept the girl from going into the restaurant? Look for them, search them out, and enjoy Approved delights.