MY TEETH.
By G.W.S.Ware.
August 13,1939.
- - - - - - - -
My teeth antedates my memory. The absence of my two front upper ones, impressed itself
on my memory, from the fact, that some one ask me to open my mouth to take in the end of a
string of sogrum-home candy, and bite it off, but when I did, and the candy was pulled,
the whole string slipped through the gap where my teeth had been pulled out. I think this
was about my first loss and shame I had in life. I felt ashamed for people to see me lose
candy that way. It was funny for a child to lose his candy through his teeth.
When I was Sixteen, a jaw tooth ached. I tried sucking cool air, to ease the pain,
Nothing doing on lines of relief; so an ex-slave owner, had forceps, probably, to pull
aching teeth of Negros, any how, he brought that out, I thought it was like pulling ones
head off.
Time went on, and teeth kept decaying, for I did not brush them, no one did, as I
remember brused their teeth in those days. I had my first dental work done, when I was 26,
by an old man who said he quit boarding to live by himself, because he had to drink too
much water,to get a little coffee.
Years after that, I woke up one night, with a raging jaw tooth. Got up soon after
midnight, rode two miles for a farmer to pull it out. Before I got there, it quit hurting,
but I went on, and the man said he could’ent pull teeth in the night. I said,
I’ll hold a light, and so I did and he pulled it out. After that I had a Doctor to
pull several, before I left. In 1913, I had more extracted, and a full set of gold bridge
work done, except my front upper ones.
Now, after 25 years I am having all my teeth extracted, preparatory, for a full set of
artificial set made. Such is life and teeth at 85.
