Ah, Southern Ohio....

First off: No lurking! If you are reading and enjoying (or even reading and hating) please leave replies! Otherwise I'm forced to assume no one cares and will be forced to sit around wondering why everyone insists dentists have such a high suicide rate. (not actually true; in recent years we've been surpassed by lawyers...)

This post is almost verbatim copied from a recent email exchange with a dental school colleague who now finds herself working in Southern Ohio. (This is, I'm sure, less stressful to her than finding herself, due to vagaries of surnames, sitting next to ME for four years...heh heh...)

Anyway, thanks to Dr. Janice for her inspiration - I wish her the best of luck in joining the small but significant demographic of "NASCAR-watching Orthodontists!"

As you may recall, I spent 3-4 mos working for
[non profit healthcare agency] in [Appalacian Ohio town]; had some good assistants
from [slightly larger town]... I always remember things from that
practice like:

"Bubby don't much take ta sleepin' without his
Mountain Dew, ya see..."

On back of a truck: sticker featuring Osama bin Laden
saying "F--- you A------." That way, when al Qaida's
leader is tooling around Appalachian Ohio, he will see
that, realize he's an a------ and that he can get
f---ed.

On blackboard inside Waverly restaurant/tavern:
"How's a Pike County divorce like a tornado? answer:
Either way, someone's losing a trailer."

Also noted on backs of trucks (it was eerie thinking that my Toyota was the only one for miles around...)

-Keep honking; I'm re-loading.

-(in the style/font of popular milk industry slogan:) gut deer?

- "Terrorism" - just that, w/ an 'anti' ring around it, like the "no smoking" sign or the Ghost Busters logo.

I saw the latter in a parking lot one day and mused, "Ya know, that really makes me stop and think. Cuz ya know, before I got into dentistry, I was totally going to BE a terrorist! But now...I'm just not so sure..."

Needless to say, I was hardly surprised to find John Ashcroft trailing me around for a few days...

Fond memories - I always referred to the area as a place "with more
guns than teeth."

THAT said, I was always impressed that a lot of young
parents with kids were pretty determined to keep their
offspring from losing all the teeth that THEY had; they kept
their appointments, listened carefully to your
instructions and were profoundly grateful for the
services. If Bubby or Sissy weren't brushing enough,
you can belive mom and dad would be letting 'em have
it on the way out the door....

so there you go.