You'll be happy to hear that my regular trips to the dentist are now complete. My teeth are clean, plaque-free, and all holes have now been plugged. I am several thousand yen worse off, but feel better for putting myself through this torture. If you are reading this and wondering when the last time you visited the dentist was, I highly recommend you go. Now. Stop reading this nonsense and get yourself there at once.
One vaguely interesting story from my dentist, Mr Miyamoto. He asked me why I hadn't been for so long, and I said:
'I don't like coming to the dentist', or something similar.
He laughed, and said 'NO-ONE likes coming to the dentist, it's just one of those things you have to do'.
'Mmm, so why did you choose to be a dentist, then, if you know no-one wants to see you?', I enquired.
His reply was interesting. 'I didn't choose to be a dentist. My father and grandfather were dentists, so I had no choice'.
This got me wondering how many sons and daughters of family-run businesses/professions follow their parents' professions. When I was in the States, I often heard that Asian-American parents, many of whom were doctors and lawyers, wanted their children to follow in their footsteps. At university, I knew a couple of people whose parents had farms, and expected their children to take over the family business.
This tends not to happen so much with teachers, accountants, policemen, etc. I wonder why?
Posted by Gary at March 17, 2004 06:05 PM