The Dentist

Music: Jeff Buckley, "Eternal Life," Grace

This is a really good song by a dead guy. The choice of this song to open my Blog has virtually nothing to do with the content of the blog or today's tale. It is simply the song I am listening to right now. Don't overthink it. I didn't. Except when I chose the title of the Blog. I overthought that.

There are lots of great songs by people who are currently dead, but I would consider most of Jeff Buckley's songs less well-known than some other dead people.

Food for thought: did Jeff Buckley commit suicide when he drown in the Mississippi? Answer: I have no idea. Why would you go swimming in the Mississippi? I wouldn't. I probably wouldn't even take a piss in the Mississippi. How many dead people are there in the Mississippi right now? It seems like they are always occassionally washing up around where I live. That, along with the pollution, is enough for me to merely admire the beauty and power of the mighty river from a safe distance.

The irony of the title of this Buckley song and his ultimate demise just hit me. No kidding.

Athlete: Ala Abdelnaby, Forward, Boston Celtics circa 1994?

What happened to that guy? One of my best friends used to collect his basketball cards. Do you think that with a name like that in today's day-in-age he would have been ostracized as a Muslim Terrorist? I doubt it, but it's worth considering.

Blog: Boof's Blogberg

Great blog. Go there. He's funny. I read daily. Read the BJ story in the "Best Of" section, as it is possibly the best story ever told by a blogger on the internet.

Anecdote:

Last March, I watched the opening day of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (otherwise known as "March Madness") at a sports bar with a friend. My buddy brought one of his buddies from work. His buddy brought his dentist (?).

So I'm watching games and eating wings and drinking Long Islands (Buffalo Wild Wings makes good Long Islands, and I do not consider Long Islands to be girly drinks; there is lots of alcohol in them). Racked up a pretty good bill. Iowa got beat on a buzzer beater, and Wisconsin lost. All in all, very good day.

I had some great conversations with the dentist about grad school loans and football and stuff. Great guy. He had to go, possibly to remove the tube he snaked down some patient's nose 4 or 5 hours ago. An hour later, as we were about to pay our bill, the waitress told us it was paid for. The dentist had paid the WHOLE THING. Seriously, it was a big bill.

I have to say, I was moved. So moved, in fact, I wrote the dentist a thank you letter immediately (It took me years to finish my allotment of wedding thank-yous).

Here's the point: I wanna be like this guy. He paid a huge bill for two guys he had never met before that day. And he did it covertly, without expecting a single thing in return. In fact, he knew he would probably never see me again. There was NO POSSIBLE MOTIVE for this random act of kindness.

I want to be more like this guy.