Yesterday was another great day- one would not think so when you learn how it began. It was a trip to Marin to the dentist. It is the same dentist I have had for years and years and years. He is the star of Mind the Gap – a story I wrote about fourteen years ago, for a graduate class taken at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. It is possible to read on the blog – just go the the search engine and type in Mind the Gap and it will pop up. It begins on one blog and ends on another. So I arrived on time (as usual) but ended up siting in a dental chair with a bib around my neck for forty minutes with nothing to do, nothing to read, nothing, I said:
Me: Patience is not one of my virtues. I understand that doctors keep you waiting in their offices sometimes for hours, but not dentists.
They: I will be with you in a few minutes. I am going to take an impression.
Me: Well, I make an impression and you are going to take one.
So they put some goop in my mouth, it hardened and I was finally allowed out.. A picture of me with bib in dental chair will be attached to this blog. But having nothing to read meant that I went to my blog which is located on my iPhone, looked to the Related Stories on the November 9, 2020 blog and read them. It was such a treat! I learned that back in December of 2017 I was considered to be a good wrier, charismatic, lovable, interesting, funny etc. and ebullient. That was very cheering, most cheering indeed. That was almost three years ago and I have not changed – well if I did it was for the better, so sayeth my doctors, who have known me for years. This is a conversation I had with one of them.
Me: I am smart.
He: And so humble
Me: You make me laugh.
This from December 26,2017 blog
So I did ask others the big question which was: “If you just read my blogs and did not know me very well would I be the same person to you?” For some reason this answer made me cry, actually weep noisily. But in a good way, not in a bad way. This person and I have known one another for about twenty-five years but we have never lived in the same city as one another.“I had to think about your question. I would have to say you wouldn’t be the same person to me through the blog as you are in person. In many ways I think you are clearer through your blog. Good writing brings things into focus – which is what you do. You bring some things into clearer focus for me, and maybe blur other aspects of yourself. Not sure what I really know of you – I feel I am getting to know you better through the blog. Does that help?”Another had a different response, in fact quite different. She said: “That’s a good question you pose! I’ve given the answer some thought and for me, I think it is: If I didn’t know you very well, I probably would not be reading your blog. I read it because I know you and I love reading about what you’re doing, your experiences, and how you are. Your personality shines through in your writing, but if I didn’t know you I don’t think I’d see that. Does that make sense? You have a lot of followers and a lot of those people have met you or know someone who has met you and I think they read it for the same reasons. You’re charismatic, funny, loveable, interesting, etc. I don’t read anyone else’s blog and if I didn’t know you, I’d probably not read yours, not because it’s not interesting or good, but because I wouldn’t be interested in your life or it’s experiences.”Chris Jackson, my hero and computer guru’ s answer was short and sweet: You seem as ebullient as ever to me my dear.
The other bonus in going to the dentist is that I picked up about three new readers for the blog. Now i do not exactly need new readers but it is still fun to get them. I got statistics this week showing, again a break down of readers by country. Next to the USA came Singapore – of all places. I wrote Chris and asked him what was going on – he sent back a detailed explanation but It still is unclear – perhaps a hacker but it does not fit the profile. Usually hacking takes place for financial data or sometimes for personal reasons. But my texts have not been altered. Just for safety concerns new security walls were erected by Chris my computer guru. There was an earlier attempt to hack me by the Chinese in March of 2018 but that was understandable. I was making fun of the Tiah family, staging a fake wedding between Alicia McTwit and Kimmy Poo. Chris blocked them and i stopped the wedding plans, but it was fun at the time. It was an attempt to give a happy ending to the failed relationship between Alexis McBride and Joo Kim Tiah. He did eventually get married in Malaysia on November 19, 2019 to a Chinese woman. A Muslim husband is being scouted for me in Pakistan. Seriously, this is true
After finally being released from the bondage of the dental chair it was off to lunch at the Club House at the McGinnis Golf Course. Personal Driver and Alexis (aka Alya) (aka Baby) shared the rock shrimp salad and the vegetable pizza. There are a number of dishes that had to be rejected due to the Islamic dietary restraints, but it was fine and everything was delicious. It was so pleasant to sit outside, watch people hit golf balls. It was like it was years before, in those days prior to the pandemic. Then, for me, back to San Francisco. I laid on the bed and went to sleep waking to my telephone ringing.
Me: Who iis calling me in the middle of the night?
I was a bit confused, it was not the middle of the night it was 6:30 pm. The call was from Personal Driver who drove home to the East Bay and had the same experience. He napped missing his class on the Quran. We laughed and laughed and laughed. So I got up and continued watching The Crown on Netflix. Went back to bed and had a great sleep waking up at 8 sm. I am a very good sleeper, sleep is good for many things, wrote a blog about it, more than one actually, For one thing it is good for one’s immune system, needed in these days of burgeoning numbers of the coronavirus.
By the way I have another ‘new name.” It is the Arabic pronunciation of baby which is BeeBee. I am BeeBee Ayala.
