Читать книгу Becoming a Counselor - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 18

One of the most unpleasant and physically painful times of my childhood was going to see Dr. Toomey, our dentist. “Ouch” and “terrified” are the words that best describe my relationship with him. He seemed quite old and had white hair. Even his equipment looked ancient and worn out. It was yellowing. In his waiting room, there were pictures on the wall of him in World War II. I felt like I was entering a war zone when I walked into his office.

Every time I went to see Dr. Toomey it was painful because I had cavities. There was no fluorinated water to help prevent decay. His message to me when he was drilling in my mouth was “Open wide, Sammy.” I had changed my name from Sammy to Sam when I was 5 years old, but Dr. Toomey failed to get the message. His instructions for me after every visit were “Don’t eat anything for 3 hours.” I did not want to do so, but I did feel like biting him!

Dr. Toomey either died or gave up his practice about the time I was midway through high school. I am sure underneath his pain-inflicting exterior he was probably a nice, easy-going individual. Had he been an oilman, though, and had I been Texas, he certainly would have been rich from drilling!