Our flight wasn’t until 4:30 pm out of Key West. But we had to get there by bus for $4 each. We had Shelly, our friend watching the boat, take us to shore about 10:30 am with our suitcases and our garbage. It all goes in the same trip by dinghy. That way we could leave our dinghy at the boat. We had to finalize things with the marina before leaving. Then we walked to the bus stop a couple blocks away and waited for the bus. We were there about 30 early, but we didn’t want to miss it. I figured the bus would arrive in Key West at 1:00 or 4:00, so we had to take the earlier bus. But once we reached Key West, the airport stop isn’t until the bus circles the island and is heading north again. So we didn’t get to the airport until about 2:00. Glad we had time to spare.
We decided to eat lunch at the airport. The restaurant was pretty slow. We started visiting with our waitress. She was from the Czech Republic but had lived here 10 years. She ended up sitting down at our table to visit with us while we ate. That was a first.
Dave’s teeth started bothering him this morning after improving over the last few days. So he started taking pain meds, which he doesn’t care to do. Before leaving Marathon, I called the dental office in MN again to see if they needed to see Dave Thursday or Friday for an evaluation. Today, they told me that the dentist was going to be out of town and they would have to reschedule his appointment on the 13th. Would 2 weeks later be OK? I tied to be patient while I explained that, NO, that would not be OK. I had to remind them that we are flying to MN today and will only be there until the 17th. They were going to talk to the dentist and get back to me. OK, this may change our trip to MN.
I have heard all kinds of stories about the nasty patient on the phone being demanding about being seen NOW, or the WIFE of that patient. And I didn’t want to be that patient. So I called the dental office back. I told them that if it didn’t work out to see Dr. Stec, could Dave see his associate, or would they have a recommendation of another office. Again, they said they would get back to us today, but we were about to get on an airplane.
We changed flights in Ft Lauderdale, so I called again. Well, the office was closed for the night. We had a stop in Charlotte, NC, but didn’t have to leave the plane, it continued on to MN. That’s what you get when you book last minute. From Ft Lauderdale to Charlotte, I had a 5 year old boy siting behind me that kicked my seat the entire flight. He was also pushing some buttons of his mother’s. Dave was ready to defend the mother if she decided to use corporal punishment. But he redeemed himself when we landed. I got such a giggle out of his comment. He asked his mom where we were. She said Charlotte. He said “is that still on earth?” Maybe his kids will be asking him someday “are we on earth yet”?
In Charlotte, I decided to text my friend, Stephanie, married to the endodontist. I wanted her to let Ed know that we totally understand if Dave can’t see him, and would they have a recommendation. I think maybe they were just afraid to turn us away and were trying to figure would where to schedule Dave. She replied that Ed was really swamped and that may have to happen. She gave us the name and number of another dentist in the northern part of the Twin Cities.
We are staying with Dave’s mom in LeSueur, which is about an hour south of the Cities. So I decided to use what my dad used to call “Good old American know WHO.” I called another classmate, Kordie Reinhold. I left her a message with the basic details and asked for a reference to an edodontist in the southern part of the Cities.
When we arrived in Minneapolis, I listened to our return message. She said her husband, Peter Hinke, also a classmate of mine, is great at root canals, and he would like to see him to evaluate the situation. And to call in the morning.
We arrived at midnight, picked up our rental car, and drove to LeSueur. We arrived about 1:30 am and visited for 30 minutes and hit the bed (our queen air mattress that we gave Dave’s mom). I set the alarm to call Kordie at 7:00 am.
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