Day #212 – Dental V

Gatlinburg TN

Repairing a cracked tooth is like trying to stop a crack in concrete.  When my molar cracked, back on May 13, a long series of tooth-saving activities began.  The dentist tried repeatedly to drill out around the crack and fill it.  Initially, he thought an on-lay would be enough to stop the crack’s progress, but it failed.  The crack grew until it went all the way to the root.  Today was a last-ditch effort to save the tooth - a root canal.

The dentist warned me that he might not be able to prevent all the pain involved, but that he would do the best he could.  Well, he did a pretty good job.  He stopped numerous times during the procedure to shoot in more pain killers.  The whole procedure took four hours.  It was rough on both of us.  I got cramps in my neck, and he was just plain exhausted.  Near the end, he zigged and I zagged and he caught his drill on the underside of my tongue.  Two stitches later, and we continued.  After finishing the root canal, he placed a temporary crown across and around the whole tooth.

He felt terrible about nicking my tongue, but it really wasn’t his fault.  He checked on me in the evening and I tried to joke about it.  We’re crossing our fingers that the temporary crown keeps the crack under control.  If this doesn’t work, he’ll pull the tooth and we’ll go down the road of bone grafts and implants.

Day #209 – Work Camping II

Gatlinburg TN

Well, we worked hard this week, trying to learn how to do these jobs and how to best organize ourselves.  We were expected to work 20 hours; we worked 27.  We didn’t do much else.

Day #203 – Work Camping

Gatlinburg TN

When Don, the campground manager, heard that our dental bills were going through the roof and my insurance was falling short, he offered us jobs.  In exchange for at least 20 hours of work each week, we could have our campsite for free.  That amounted to a savings of about $450 per month.  While it wouldn’t pay the dentist, it sure would help out.

Our duties include:

• Picking up litter
• Cleaning the shower houses
• Cleaning camp sites
• Cleaning cabins
• Greeting new campers
• Selling firewood and ice
• Being around when Don can’t be

We both have uniforms – ball caps with the campground logo on them.  Kelly’s is blue and mine is red.

The work is harder than it sounds.  There are 60 sites for tents and RVs; the two shower houses each have four toilets and four showers; there are five cabins.

Fran and Paul clean the shower houses on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  We are expected to keep an eye on the shower houses on their off-days, making sure there is plenty of soap and toilet paper.

Today was our first day.  I cleaned a cabin floor and Kelly dealt with the county pool inspector (note: dealing with the swimming pool is not on the list of duties).

Later in the day, we found out that Fran, who used to clean cabins for $15 a pop, had been “let go” from that responsibility.

Fran was incredibly upset about losing her job.  She thought she was let go because she wasn’t doing a good enough job.  I thought she’d been let go because Don couldn’t afford to give us a free site and pay her for cabin cleaning.  Reality probably is the latter, plus a new trend in cabin rentals.  In the past, cabins tended to be rented for a week at a time.  This season, people have been renting them for just a night or two.  Don can’t afford to pay a cleaning fee from the revenue of just one night’s stay.

Kelly and I had a serious talk with Fran, and then with Don.  Neither of us was willing to take work from someone else.  For Fran and Paul, the money she got from cleaning cabins was substantial – it really made a difference for them.  Don advised us, and reminded them, that payment for cabin cleaning had been a temporary agreement, and that its time was past.  He would no longer pay for any clean-up services at the campground.

It’s going to be an interesting experience.