Hey Fully

Below is the latest addition, a story I think you’ll appreciate, especially since you kindly did some PGC (Partial Gold Crown, not to be confused with FGC) work in my mouth!

All the best wishes to you.

Bill

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Hey Bill….LOLOLOL…All Gaps Must be Filled ! 🙂 Fully

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Patient Greetings To You!

Well, I’m still in Dushanbe, with a few new stories. It seems appropriate to begin with the story of the patient patient.

As already explained, my departure from Dushanbe to the Pamir Mountains was delayed because I couldn’t access funds. The best solution was for someone to send me via Western Union the necessary amount of money to cover all expenses for the next two months, which my brother spent hours to accomplish last Tuesday. By Thursday afternoon, the money was still not available to me. My brother gave Western Union a call to ask why the hold-up; amazingly, they had the transfer of funds on hold. As a result of my brother’s phone call, they released the funds, which I confirmed were available to me in Dushanbe on Friday morning. I say “confirmed” because the first Western Union office I went to said the funds were on the books, but they didn’t have enough cash to give me, that I would have to go to a bank that also dealt with Western Union to receive the amount of the transfer. No problem, at least the funds were there.

My guide was with me, as we planned to leave Dushanbe before noon, basically as soon as I got the money. On the way to the bank was a grocery store where we decided to do some last-minute shopping for our travels. In the store, I sampled one of the foods. While eating it, a crown on one of my front teeth fell out!

Crowns don’t normally just come out easily, yet I thought it might be a simple matter of having it re-cemented in place. A dental office was highly recommended to us, so we were there within minutes. I told my story to the office manager, who called in a dentist (they are my two newest best friends, pictured in the photo at the top of the email, taking good care of me). They both speak English really well. The dentist took a look and said it was not a simple matter, that work would have to be done on the tooth and a new crown made. This was necessary because part of the tooth the crown was on had broken off and was still in the crown.

Of course, I had some direct questions for the dentist; he was equally clear with me in return. He’s good. The bottom line is he said they could fit me in and complete the work by Tuesday. I gave the OK and he did the first part of the process immediately on Friday. Saturday morning, he worked on my tooth again. My next appointment is for Tuesday, when the crown will be put into place. Total cost: $300.

Of course, there’s a part of me that wishes this hadn’t happened, but it did. I’m actually very fortunate this happened when and where it did, as it is a relatively cheap & easy thing to deal with here in Dushanbe. Had the same thing happened out in the Pamirs, days away from civilization, it would have spelled the end of the trip, as I would have wanted to return to Dushanbe ASAP, concerned that leaving the tooth open could result in permanent damage to my mouth. I’m thankful to be taken care of so quickly, by a very skilled dentist.

This is another little unexpected bump in the road on my way to the Pamir Mountains. At some point during my life, I realized things don’t happen to me, but that all of life happens for me. I am never a victim, but I admit that sometimes very colorful threads are added to the still-growing fabric of my life. So, I’m using this opportunity to practice being patient and thankful.

Speaking of the colorful fabric of life, while here in Dushanbe I’m staying at the Rumi Hotel. Rumi was a most colorful person, one of my favorites of all time. The name alone is reason to be staying here, but it’s also a pretty nice hotel.

While touring Turkey in July, I happened to spend one night in the city of Konya. That is where Rumi is buried. There’s a huge Rumi center there, whirling dervishes and all, and a Rumi museum.

The extra time spent here in Dushanbe allows me to continue to play catch-up, including with photos. Here’s the link to the latest gallery:

https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/Other/Budapest-The-Balkans/

If ever needed, I wish for you the patience of Job!

Bill

PS Regarding the replacement of my crown, the most difficult part of the whole thing was when the dentist asked if I wanted the new crown made to look like the one it was replacing, or possibly something special, like a gold or stainless-steel crown. Hmmm… You’ll have to wait and see future photos of me to learn of my choice!