At the Root of Root Canals

 

While I do believe there is a nexus between dental health and overall medical health, I cannot imagine that there is a correlation between breast cancer and root canals as suggested by someone in a video on Facebook, although I won't say it isn't true... Who knows?


I will say however, that something is going on with root canals that needs to be examined and disclosed to the public. Like, why are we doing them???


I am a 62-year-old with a pearly white smile who has had the misfortune of losing a couple of teeth over the last few years. EVERY one of them had a root canal! Have you had that experience with a root canal?


I'm not understanding why we are spending as much as 2,3,4 now 5 or $6000 to "save" a tooth that ultimately we're going to have to have pulled anyway... Just give us an implant from the beginning and be done with it.


I know two people plagued with dental problems who ultimately opted to have all of their teeth pulled and replaced with implants, an uncle did this many, many years ago. It was bold, daring, probably revolutionary and I'm sure quite costly. I have no idea what he spent. A friend did it more recently to the tune of $30K. Sound like a waste? Think about it. 5 or 6 root canals and God forbid other BS procedures they tell us we need, you will have spent twice that amount over the years. So why not cut your losses early and be done with it?


I am so disgusted and distrustful of dentistry right now as yet another tooth with a root canal is feeling vulnerable. I am afraid to eat on that side...


In reading comments of other unsatisfied root canal customers, there seems that something is going on with root canals that the public needs to know. I'm sure the dentists are aware of whatever is the[ir] dirty little cash cow secret and know that patients are right to question the legitimacy, efficacy or the necessity of the procedure.


Just two days ago, I had this very conversation with an endodontist. They specialize in root canals. He defended that if the crown is not affixed properly or separates from the gum, it allows for undetected decay of the tooth under the crown. Another dentist or maybe a hygienist explained that because the root canal tooth is encased in silver, decay can go undetected on exrays during routine cleaning examinations. Because the nerve has been removed from the tooth, the unsuspecting patient experiences no pain and has no way of knowing the tooth is decaying until it is too late.


So, WHY are we getting very costly and sometimes very painful root canals if ultimately the tooth has to be pulled anyway? Because it's a money grab! That's why!


Dentists make lots and lots of money and they don't catch any flack because of it. We talk incessantly about doctors and how they rip us off but nobody's looking at the dental industry. And that's a problem.


As much as I think the insurance industry should not dictate our medical care, someone needs to look at why are we having root canals. Rip us off once and simply do an implant at the start! Stop milking the public who has no way of knowing what to question or believe...


WHERE is protection for American consumers? It seems we have none! Question doctors and dentists. Get an independent second opinion of their advice and their work! Do your research and consider international dental and medical care if you have to. Its more affordable...


~ Miss Higgi Says

I awoke this morning to a very quiet and unusually undecorated house, remembering when I was a kid and how Christmas Eve seemed like the longest night of the year. We would wake up several times throughout the night, probably every hour, to find "Santa" not quite ready for us.


Life was so simple and the little things made us oh so happy. I don't know how my Mom and so many other poor or single parents did it but, somehow, they made sure we had joy! Thank God for lay-away! Does lay-away still exist? I hope so. It was so much more practical than credit...


We would squeal and scream with delight as we ripped paper off gift after gift excited to see what the other of us had gotten. Each of us would receive a "big" gift, a special gift that was just for you, something specific we had asked Santa for. Some of our other gifts were communal gifts, games and such intended for all of us. Always, somebody had a bike under the tree. Kids were still normal then. We played outdoors...


We would play with our new toys as Mommy prepared breakfast, usually hoe cake with lots of butter and Alaga or Karo syrup! How many of you know what hoe cake or Alaga or Karo syrup is? LOL!


Christmas music blared from the radio or record player. The Jackson 5 Christmas album was our favorite while Mommy loved Mahalia Jackson or Nat King Cole!!!


Ours was one of the most decorated houses in the neighborhood. Mommy adorned every window and every room, even the bathroom, with some sign of Christmas. Yep!, we only had one bathroom for six people! Imagine that! LOL!


There would be guests in and out all day before we would settle down and have a good Christmas dinner, always to include ham, greens, and lightly buttered Brown and Serve rolls among the rest of the smorgasbord. It was a day of pure, commercialized joy and family filled fun & delight! I don't know what families do now, but I sure hope it's some semblance of Christmas of old filled with memories to sustain them into old age...


As I got older, the joy was in flipping the script. I became the giver of joy, not the starry-eyed receiver. I bought gifts for everyone. My greatest joy, however, was giving the gift of joy to my Mom who had made so many Christmases, and so many other days, so joyous for me. I lived to reciprocate. She loved being spoiled by me as much as I loved spoiling her. She deserved it. Her friends would ask, what did "Lita" (that was her name for me - Black Mothers ALWAYS have special names for their children) get you this year. I took pride in giving her bragging rights. She, on the other hand, welcomed any opportunity to talk about her kids. Mommy Stop!!! LOL!!!


Those were surely wonderful years, years of simplicity filled with cheer and love...


As I enter this new season of holiday, joy and renewed life, I will reach back for my spirit to be buoyed by memories from days of old and pray that children and families today are experiencing something of the same sort...


Merry Christmas Ladies! Enjoy the wonders of the holiday season however it is that you celebrate or don't celebrate.


Make good use of this time off doing what you do! I would like to be on a beach somewhere just sittin' & chillin' in the blazing sun... Next year for sure! (smile)


Spread Love, Joy and Cheer Always!,
~ Miss Higgi
When Black Women Gather, LLC
Christmas 2022

The Train of Life

My Good Friend sent this poem to me. It is so beautiful, I had to share with you.


As we prepare to welcome the New Year, Consider your Train of Life & Pass it on...


Hello 2023!





                                   

                                          Author, Jean d'Ormesson

Be A Blessing...

On Sunday morning we were startled out of our apartments @ 6:30 AM to a false alarm for a fire. So rather than sit in my car, I drove to the local Wawa to get my favorite Chai tea. There is a reason for everything people...

The first Wawa I went to did not have my tea. I drove to the next. They're on every corner it seems...

When I exited the store, there was a homeless man who had no coat. He was visibly cold. Of course he was. It's 37°.

He wasn't asking for anything. Just standing there shaking. I gave him a dollar asked him where he lived. He said, I'm homeless. I said but where do you hang out? He said, in Bellmawr, which is a couple towns away. I asked how did you get here? He said I was in the hospital and somebody stole all my stuff.

I drove back to my apartment and packed a bag for him. Of course I only have girl stuff. I gave him a plaid, gender neutral,  Liz Clairborne wool jacket. He didn't mind. It was better than what he had. I gave him a scarf, some nice leather gloves with a fur lining, a couple of hats, $10 for his pocket and a blanket. He was so appreciative.

When I got back to the store at first I didn't see him. I was gonna' go looking for him when I saw him sweeping the far end of the parking lot. The store manager offered him a few dollars if he cleaned the parking lot. You could tell he was a nice guy. His name was Troy. Ask the homeless their name. Humanize your communication with them. Common courtesy...

So everything happens for reason folks. The second Wawa and not the first. The alarm in my building was for me to wake up to do something good for another human being.

I tell you this not to pat myself on the back but to encourage you to do the same for someone else. It takes so little to make someone else feel noticed and worthwhile and human... Homeless people say they feel invisible. Let them know that you see them...

And let us never forget that, "but for the grace of God", there go any one of us... No matter how high, any one of us could find ourselves in an unfortunate situation.

Troy feels good and I feel good about helping him. That's better than church!

It's Sunday! Help somebody. It truly is the little things that make us a big blessing to others.

Thank You God for allowing me to be able to help another.

~ Amen
🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

Good Sunday Morning Folks! Make it a Good Day!

P.S. I am going to keep a bag in my car for those I see in need. Let me know if you know someone in the Camden area in need of help. I have lots to give away.

Written Sunday, December 11, 2022

The Release of Brittney

So, let's give credit where credit is due. More often than not, I am critical of the Democrats for being cowardly and non strategic. I have to say that President Biden was especially strategic in the timing and choice of his release of Ms Griner from the grip of the evil Russians holding her hostage for the past several months.

1) He waited until after not only the midterms, but after winning the Georgia Senate seat, to release her and 2) no matter what he and the Democrats say, they know they cannot win a national election without Black voters, certainly not without Black women. Black Americans are their most loyal base. So of course they traded the Black woman prisoner ahead of the white male journalist. 

I would imagine to some that seems unfair since he's been there for 4 years. Biden may be old but but he's no fool. He knows he will need the Black community to win and he fully intends to run in 2024. Call it playing to your base even if the Democrats refuse to acknowledge Black voters as their base. Now let's get our brother home too...

Dems can court all the other voters they want, the gay community, the Latino vote, white women voters, whoever but if Black people ever decide to sit out an election, the Democrats are toast and don't stand a chance of winning a national election. If only Black voters could learn to recognize, leverage and make demands using our untapped power, we would be a viable and unstoppable force for all to reckon with. Even the Dems fear that. Trust and believe they do...

I'm just glad our Sistah is home. I hope those evil Russians who played her as a pawn in their vicious game of roulette, didn't damage her spirit in any way.

But good job Democrats! Try to make this your normal stance. Grow a pair.  Take chances.  Be brave. Be strategic. Be leaders! Make us proud to call ourselves Democrat. Play to YOUR base! Those other folks with whom you are so occupied converting, are never gonna' support you anyway. Normal, straight thinking Americans, excepting the extreme left, are the majority in this country. Carry a big stick and walk like it! Take a detour from that "high road". Check the rear view mirror. No one traveling there but you...

Miss Higgi Says, Good Move President Biden!

Welcome Home Brittney!!!

The Messaging of the Candidacy of Herschel Walker

My first thought upon reading this quote was, ain't that the truth!, as it pertained to Herschel Walker. But then I thought, as was the assault of the candidacy, and eventual presidency, of donald trump against the American people...

Both candidates speak volumes about the regard of the republican party not only for Black Americans, but for the nation and Americans in general.

Thankfully we escaped one nightmare but Black republicans must do some soul searching because promotion and preference of the sheer incompetence, blatant ignorance and observable stupidity of Herschel over Black lawyers, Black educators, Black business people and other capable Black professionals who are dedicated members of that party is most certainly a slap in the face to them, their dignity, their standing, their loyalty and is cause for questioning their overall membership in the party of red. They should be asking themselves why are they there? What value does their membership hold in their party of choice?

Herschel's candidacy was equivalent to running Jethro Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies),minus the bib overalls, for office and that would never happen. Before you offer donald trump, remember, they didn't choose trump, trump chose their party to execute his shenanigans.

Before the republican leadership began sipping the bleach, they were appalled by the mere suggestion of trump. He hijacked their party through their illiterate party base which came to realize that they were the base and the power of the republican party and accordingly, took command. 

Party leadership was forced to accept trump but always the true blue bloods, or the "bow ties", as I call them, of the republican party have been disgusted by him right from the start, especially because they knew they could never control him. 

Herschel?, not so much. He would have been a good puppet no matter the string they pulled, he would have obeyed. Accordingly, not even the bow ties raised an objection to his representation of them. They were not offended nor threatened by him, because he represented their image of what Black America should like. He was docile, controllable, obedient, manageable, therefore grateful, conforming and non threatening. It seems otherwise however, that the "bow ties" have conceded their party to the "hee haws". The republicans have been consumed by the beast they fed long before the rise of trump. Gobble, gobble...

In keeping with their red line (pun intended) thinking, the repugs surmised they had to run a Black guy against the Black guy Democratic candidate.

Remember their installation of Michael Steele, who they had previously rejected, in the face of Obama, Black guy against the Black guy to counter accusations of republican racism, same strategy. Unlike Walker, they couldn't control Steele but at least he was not an assault on the dignity and intelligence of Black America. At least he fit the bill in terms of presentation and qualifications. Steele served his purpose and now he is gone. Herschel is a slap in the face to the Black community but unlike Steele, he would have been a good, appreciative and well serving minstrel.

Hopefully, both parties have learned that not just any Black face will do to entice Black voters who are not as gullible as the repugs clearly had planned, albeit the race was far too close. A qualified Black candidate might have swayed enough Black voters to clinch the victory for the republicans. Their racist foundation would not allow them to perceive as much or show even a modicum of respect for the intelligence or dignity of the Black community. Thank God! Keep running the likes of Herschel. Black folks will continue to meet you at the polls no matter the obstacles you put in place.

Thankfully Georgia stepped up to say "hell no" to the buffoonery! But as was the case with trump, America must examine and ask herself, what does the appeal of either of these observably stupid candidates say about America as a country? Certainly, it is not favorable for a nation perceived and who touts itself as a "world leader"...

Rest well Georgia. Your work is done, for now. The rest of the nation thanks you. Herschel Walker, the Heisman trophy winning football player, was soundly defeated last night in his bid for the US Senate. I hear there is a coaching vacancy at Jackson State University... 

Manage Your Windows

Is the browser on your computer screen a reflection of your life? Take a look at the top of your screen. How many windows do have open? I'll wait... (smile)

If you're like me, there are MANY open windows, too many open windows and you forget why you opened at least half of them!

So, how about you? Are there a lot of open windows on your browser? Does it correlate with how many open windows there are in your life (i.e. tasks, projects, commitments, responsibilities)? How are you managing the open windows in your life and on your browser or are the open windows managing you?

Are the windows in your browser a sign of a life that is well oiled and organized or one that is overwhelmed and filled with anxiety? Do your open windows represent peace, calmness and order or clutter, chaos and disorganization? Do the open windows in your life feel sometimes all consuming? Is it time to close some of those windows? You get to decide.

I ask again, how many windows are open on your browser? Take a moment this morning to think about how to prioritize the windows in your life...


That's what is on my mind this morning. Good Saturday Morning Folks! Make it a good one! Manage your windows!