Gouging Dentist

            On Wednesday morning I wrote a few more verses for my alternative version of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Frankenstein”. I think I need about four more to do justice to Mary Shelley’s story of the monster and to explain why he killed Victor’s loved ones.

            At 10:00 I had the appointment that I’d made over a month before with the dental clinic at the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre. I had to bring along a cheque stub from Ontario Works. I used the washroom where there’s a needle disposal box on the wall. I filled out the longest form I’ve ever encountered. There were at least seven pages and it took so long that I had to pee again once I’d handed it in. The examination room was much bigger than the ones at Smile City. The dentist looked at my periodontal pocket and told me that I have a cavity in the tooth beside it. He had his almost elderly assistant take an x-ray and came back to tell me that the only thing I could do was wait until the cavity starts to hurt and then have the tooth pulled. Then he looked at me like he was expecting me to get up and leave. I asked, “So the appointment is over?” He nodded. I asked about a full check-up and cleaning but he said Ontario Works doesn’t cover cleanings but ODSP does. I told him I have Green Shield and he asked why I hadn’t told the receptionist. I told him I had but she didn’t want the membership number. He didn’t seem to believe that I had Green Shield or that I was a student at U of T. He said that he couldn’t be sure that I still had coverage as if he thought I only used to be a student and was still claiming that I had coverage. I assured him I had coverage but he said I would have to make another appointment for a cleaning and pay $110 and then get Green Shield to reimburse me later. I told him that Smile City always directly billed Green Shield and he told me I should go there. I asked about when I turn 65 and he said that I would need to apply for free dental care through the Board of Health in order to get it next year.

            I left feeling disappointed. I’d thought this was supposed to be a community health centre that helps out the disadvantaged but it turned out to have just another greedy dentist. I may have to go back to Smile City after all. I think they were only going to charge me $40 for a cleaning over the insurance coverage.

            I stopped at Freshco where I bought a watermelon, four bags of grapes, four-year-old cheddar, some yogourt, a box of spoon size shredded wheat and an 8-pack of sponge towels.

            I had triscuits with cheese for lunch.

            When I took some garbage out back I chatted with my next-door neighbour Benji. He said that our former superintendent, Sundar wants to move back in here because here are too many ghosts where he’s been living at West Lodge for the last two years. He doubts if Sundar could live someplace without an elevator in his condition. Benji also mentioned that our building is falling apart and that the required renovations might force us all to move.

            I took a siesta and had my first good sleep in a couple of days.

            I had a fried egg with a piece of toast and a beer while watching two episodes of Stories of the Century.

            The first was about Tiburcio Vasquez. In the written story he started out as a bar owner but when some gringo cowboys kill his sister he declares war on the Anglos, killing them whenever he has the chance. He robbed stages and stole herds of horses. Billy Rollins, the sheriff of Los Angeles is after him. Vasquez and his men attack a trail drive and kill the drovers. He forces the trail boss to sign an $800 cheque and has someone else cash it. The sheriff intercepts the man on his way to bring the money to Vasquez and sets a trap. Vasquez is captured, tried and hanged.

            Vasquez’s sister was played by Nicaraguan actor Lillian Molieri.

            In the real story Vasquez was present at the slaying of a Monterey constable and became a suspect and an outlaw. When he later committed crimes he claimed they were retaliation for discrimination and he considered himself a defender of Mexican rights. His trademark was to tie the hands of victims behind him and to leave them face down in the dust. When he was caught rustling horses in 1956 he was imprisoned at San Quenton for five years. He helped organize four bloody prison breaks. Upon release he returned to banditry and engaged in every kind of theft. When he was caught robbing a store he went to prison for another three years. In 1870 he was badly wounded in a gunfight with the Santa Cruz police but he escaped and was nursed by his sisters. In 1873 he escaped after a gunfight with a posse. He was very popular in the Mexican community of California. He played guitar well, danced well and wrote love poetry. A $3000 reward was issued for his live capture or $2000 dead. His hideout was Soledad Canyon, which was a maze of rocks, caves and crevices. He might have seduced and got his niece pregnant. Her family may have betrayed him when he was captured. When interviewed he claimed to be a revolutionary with the goal of returning California to Mexican rule. He was hanged.

            The second story was about Crazy Horse the last of the Sioux chiefs to wage war against the white man. In the written story Crazy Horse’s daughter is dying of scarlet fever. Crazy Horse goes to get a medicine man but his wife takes the child to find a white doctor. The doctor is about to enter when Crazy Horse kills him and then his daughter dies. They say she could have been saved if he’d lived but if she died that soon I don’t see how. Crazy Horse goes after a train carrying a certain general. But authorities convince the other chiefs that if Crazy Horse is allowed to kill the general then white people will declare war on all Indians. They help to capture Crazy Horse. He is promised that he will be treated like a captured general and not put him in the guard house but when he is taken to the fort the officer in command goes against that promise. Crazy Horse fights and is mortally wounded.

            Crazy Horse’s wife was played by Mexican actor Alma Beltran who had been a singer for Xavier Cugat in the 1940s. She appeared in many movies and shows but always in a supporting role. Her husband Orlando Beltran was a philosopher.

            In the real story Crazy Horse was born between 1840 and 1845 on the Sioux reservation in what is now South Dakota and Wyoming. At the beginning of adolescence Crazy Horse began to have visions. In one vision he met a warrior who told him that if he dressed modestly he would not be harmed in battle. For the most part this seemed to come true, as Crazy Horse was rarely ever wounded in battle. Later, in another vision he was given a sacred song that is still sung by the Oglala people. He was a loner and never joined in dances or song but he was very generous and would give his food away to anyone that was hungrier. In 1866 Crazy Horse led cavalry troops into an ambush that resulted in the death of 1000 US soldiers. In 1871 Crazy Horse married Black Shawl. They had a daughter named They Are Afraid of Her but she died in 1873. In 1876 Crazy Horse led 1500 warriors against General Crook, which delayed the general enough to keep him from helping Custer at Little Bighorn. In 1877 with his people hungry and weak from the winter Crazy Horse decided to surrender. After he was arrested Crazy Horse struggled with a guard and was bayoneted. He died that night.