What Does Good Mean?
Carole Olsen asks whether our teeth are good.
Well, Carole, mine could be better.
Like everything else on me, they are wearing out. 77 years take their toll. I remember my 90-year-old mother sitting on the front porch during a visit about 15 years ago, biting into a piece of pizza, and having her front tooth detach. Luckily, we retrieved it before she swallowed, and her dentist glued (Gorilla Super Glue?) it back in place.
As you can see in the photo, I’ve still got all my teeth, including the molars crammed together. These powerful grinders are remnants of our meat-eating ancestors. Last night, we had pot roast so tender even my mother could have chewed it without mishap. Someday, our human jaws will catch up with our softer food-eating habits.
I’m a pretty healthy late septuagenarian, but on most days, especially by late afternoon, I feel like my teeth look.
Or my colon, with four precancerous polyps found and removed in a recent colonoscopy, two of which are marked below.
Don’t worry. That’s the only photo I will show you of an aging organ.
But Carole’s question has made me wonder. Does our definition of what counts as good change as our bodies change?
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Can crooked and discolored teeth be accepted?
Can age spots be sexy?
Can sag become the preferred muscle posture?
Can flattened cheeks trump rounded?
Not so much for our culture, but for us, with all our physical imperfections marching along with the years?
Can we be wise without wisdom teeth?
What do you think?
More November prompts here.
And stories.
