In honor of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month, I am going to share an Asian Pacific Islander story of growing up with immigrant parents. I was at a dinner party last night where the conversation headed towards childhood memories; the subject of dentists came up and my mind zoomed back a whole mess of decades to the day I had a loose tooth.
On/Off
I am not quite sure what age I was, but it was young enough to have a loose tooth up front. I was probably playing with it by toggling it back and forth like a light switch when my Mother noticed it.
"Shhhhhhhh, be vewy vewy quiet; I'm hunting wabbits"
My mother who loved watching the cartoons on the television as much as I did, came up with the idea of tying my tooth to a string and the end to a door knob. What was supposed to happen next was my mother slamming the door and with the tooth flying out of my mouth attached to the string.
That didn't happen.
Instead of standing still, I panicked and followed the string with the door. My mother looked at me and shook her head. In my head I pictured myself as Bugs Bunny and she was Elmer Fudd.
Another idea.
Tie my tooth to a can of tomatoes. She would drop the can of tomatoes and the tooth would be pulled out with the power of gravity.
That didn't work either.
I fell to the floor with the can. Now she was determined to remove the wobbly offending tooth. I slammed my lips shut. The tooth was going to come out on it's own time. I could see the wheels turning in my mother's head, TNT? A grand piano out the window? Before she could call the Acme Company for the flying anvil, I wiggled my tooth with my tongue and it eased out. I pulled out the tooth and held it to my mother. Unfortunately, with all the tongue wiggling I felt another loose tooth, this one I was keeping to myself.
Image: Ophelia Chong at the ripe toothless age of 4.
I am not quite sure what age I was, but it was young enough to have a loose tooth up front. I was probably playing with it by toggling it back and forth like a light switch when my Mother noticed it.
"Shhhhhhhh, be vewy vewy quiet; I'm hunting wabbits"
My mother who loved watching the cartoons on the television as much as I did, came up with the idea of tying my tooth to a string and the end to a door knob. What was supposed to happen next was my mother slamming the door and with the tooth flying out of my mouth attached to the string.
That didn't happen.
Instead of standing still, I panicked and followed the string with the door. My mother looked at me and shook her head. In my head I pictured myself as Bugs Bunny and she was Elmer Fudd.
Another idea.
Tie my tooth to a can of tomatoes. She would drop the can of tomatoes and the tooth would be pulled out with the power of gravity.
That didn't work either.
I fell to the floor with the can. Now she was determined to remove the wobbly offending tooth. I slammed my lips shut. The tooth was going to come out on it's own time. I could see the wheels turning in my mother's head, TNT? A grand piano out the window? Before she could call the Acme Company for the flying anvil, I wiggled my tooth with my tongue and it eased out. I pulled out the tooth and held it to my mother. Unfortunately, with all the tongue wiggling I felt another loose tooth, this one I was keeping to myself.
Image: Ophelia Chong at the ripe toothless age of 4.
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Funny story and cool photo!
Thanks Alberto, my teeth and my shades thank you. :O)) ophelia
The amazing thing is ...parents still do this today.
Immigrant parents are all the same. Always scheming with the grand piano!
You were all that even at the age of 4! Very sassy look!
Ha! That's nothing compared to what my mother did when she found out we had a loose tooth. Think of Jason in Friday the 13th.
Dear Ada,
Oh my, and your mom is my aunt. I have to picture her with a hockey mask the next I see her in Hong Kong. :O) ophelia
Hi Five Husbands,
Sassy and toothless, that's what I call Hot. :O=
Ophelia
Gary,
If they could only roll it out the window. :O) ophelia
Teri,
Where's my string?
:O) ophelia
I tied 5 teeth at once to a 12 pound sledgehammer with fishing line and threw the hammer. All 5 popped right out! Thank God the line didn't break. Not kidding! My son recorded it on video! I could finally eat something besides jello, pudding and soup!