Yesterday I got some teeth yanked out and this has not left me with the most charitable of dispositions. Seems chewing ice and dodging the dentist for sixteen years might have been a slight tactical error on my part. I have the sneaking suspicion that the few dentists that aren't actual sadists were ones in a past life (Can anyone give me a better explanation of why anyone goes into that line of work?) but apparently avoiding them entirely is not a viable strategy for pain free living. DO NOT TRY AT HOME
It's a bit disconcerting when the person who is to assault you introduces themselves and includes the word student in their introduction. I suspect that it was a learning experience for us both... I can be a bit contrary at times but I wasn't trying to be yesterday, still they didn't hardly seem to believe me when I told'em the local wasn't making me as numb as they'd said it should. They kept telling me 'you should just feel pressure" but it kept going well beyond just pressure.
It was at this point that I learned that trying to recall the Litany Against Fear was almost as effective as reciting it, and that both were ineffective local anesthetics. It was effective in calming down/distracting me until they numbed me up more, so I count it as a win. For those of you who haven't read Dune (I highly recommend it) this is the Litany:
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Eventually the instructor took over and things went more smoothly and painlessly and I was able to escape and make it back home. It was still enough to put me crossways with the world for much the rest of the day. With that mindset and not much else I felt like doing I soon found myself looking through photos from back when the whole city felt pissed off and at war with LMPD. All the photos in this post are from that time period, during the first week of protests last year.
The unmarked police cruiser in the photo above is also barely visible in the foreground of the first photo, it was a bit gratifying to see it was a little worse for the wear after being on the receiving end of police ordnance on nights prior.
That first week was wild, unlike anything I've ever experienced. Businesses were donating profits to bail people out of jail, LMPD was storming about like some occupying army and the National Guard was backstopping them with rifles and humvees.
Ohio by CSNY was on repeat in my head during that time and it seemed like we were just a hair away from something similar to Kent State. Less than twelve hours after these photos were taken the National Guard would shoot and kill businessman David McAtee. VICE did an investigation into that event, you can read more about it here.
It's time for me to jet on out of here, I've got some things I want to do while I'm convalescing (mostly enter photo contests). This last photo is of one of the many cars in the caravan that would follow the police harassing protests and drive by taunting the cops.
(Edited to replace duplicate image)