november 12, 2014

“Don’t be discouraged by your incapacity to dispel darkness from the world.
Light your little candle and step forward.”
~ Mata Amritanandamayani

It’s not often someone raves about their dentist. Not because they’re not kind, but because the act of dentistry is, frankly, barbaric. I am one of the rare few that loves their dental team and actually enjoys my visits with them. I mentioned some time ago that I’d had a horrible experience with my last dentist. I’d like you to meet the dentistry team who has put right that wrong and restored my faith in excellent dentistry: Dr. Jim V. Hill, Ilene Stoess, and Miranda Edwards. I don’t think there’s another group of people who could have walked me through such an ordeal. They have boundless compassion and patience. To say I am grateful to them would be an understatement.

As a bonus (and you know there’s always a bonus with me), I have history with Jimmy and Ilene. You’ve actually met Ilene before as my hygienist with a musician husband, Scott. In someone’s attic there’s bound to be photos of Ilene, Scott, and me from some smokey gig in a local dive. Meanwhile, Dr. Hill’s mother lives within walking distance of my parents in Morgan County. The first time I saw Jimmy I was taken aback by how much he looked like my great-grandfather John Ed Hamilton (pictured above as a young man with his father, and as an elderly man alongside eight of his fifteen children). Turns out that my four-times great-grandmother, Drucilla Hill, was from Moon/Relief Kentucky. That’s the same place Jimmy’s family is from. Somewhere between Drucilla’s line and Jimmy’s ancestral line is a common relative. We mused that there’s no way we’re not related. It’s Kentucky after all, and Moon in the 1800’s was a very small place. It’s even smaller in 2014! I’m sure I could figure out a connection to Miranda, too, if you give me long enough. I chalk this up to a very successful day, indeed!

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