The broken tooth hurt only when I would
breathe in. The air across the exposed nerve
sent electricity up to my head.

My wife of fifty years asked, “Do you have
some chewing gum? Use it to cover up
the hole until the Dentist calls you back.”

It worked. I took two aspirin with a cup
of water (warm, because she said the shock
of cold would make me scream.) Then I
could breathe,

inhale, and feel no pain. I snuck into
the kitchen and found that I could leave
the gum in place and eat ice cream. (When you

Grater’s ice cream

have lost half of your own Sweet Tooth and still
cannot resist more sugar–you’re in hell.)

• Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, August 8, 2015