Blake's Blog
Oscar’s Front Tooth
Oscar is a gregarious, healthy 9-year-old boy who loves baseball. He is the star first
baseman on his North Long Beach Little League team. Like many boys his age, he has an
easy, big smile with protruding upper front teeth.
The cloudy 2nd Saturday in May would, unfortunately, be one Oscar would never forget.
Oscar was at “Opening Day” of Little League Baseball. He was waiting for his turn “on
deck” when his teammate swung and missed a pitch, losing control of the bat. The bat
went flying through the air, striking Oscar in the face. Oscar was wearing a helmet but
not a mouth guard and the blow knocked out his upper right front tooth. After much
panic, confusion and shock, Oscar’s tooth was located by a spectator who knew what to
do:
Crisis? What Crisis?
History is a ruthless yet sagacious teacher. In 1975 the British rock group Supertramp released their 4th studio album. (Youth alert- yes, we’ve covered this subject before- an album is an analog pressed recording on a 10” vinyl disk, packaged in a similarly sized square package with text and pictures you could actually ponder). The band’s cover picture was a satirical commentary of life in the mid 1970’s; Smog and acid rain had reached unhealthy levels. Then president Richard Nixon had just resigned after the controversy of Watergate. Though in short supply, oil was $13.00/barrel. A new home cost about $35,000. Our nations inflation rate was 11.3%. The North Vietnamese had just re-taken Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. Two unknown math nerds named Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded Microsoft. And, take note of these last two factoids: our national unemployment rate was 9.2% and president Gerald Ford signed a 2.3 Billion dollar bailout loan to New York City to help them avoid bankruptcy. These were truly times of economic crisis. For those with selective memories, history does indeed repeat itself.A Dental Journey
I remember the morning quite well. It was the middle of winter, it was raining, and the lobby of the Children’s Dental Health Clinic was full of children and parents. The appearance and mood of the room was best described as somber- with one shining exception, Erika. “Hi Dr. Blake, do you want to see my teeth?” she said, as I walked by. This one patient was a ray of sunshine that made me, and most of those in the waiting room smile. But like many of our patients, Erika’s easy and confident smile was the result of an extensive “dental journey”.
40 Kilometers in a leaky old boat
The year was 1982. My twin brother and I were college freshman on Spring Break. No,
we were not packed into a trendy bar in Mexico. Instead we were in a well-used 22-foot
sailboat making our first unescorted passage from Alamitos Bay in Long Beach to Avalon
on Catalina Island. Armed only with a compass and a healthy dose of free spirit, we
arrived in Avalon a bit soggy but still afloat. We anchored the boat, paddled our cheap
raft to shore and headed for the only pizza place on the island - Antonio’s. The original
Antonio’s was a “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant with peanut shells on the floor and mini
jukeboxes at each table. We sat down to celebrate our successful voyage and selected
the song by the Four Preps, 26 Miles (Santa Catalina), a catchy tune about the beauty
and romance of Catalina Island.