CHRIS PITTS AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIECE OF TONGUE (PART 1)

Disclaimer:  Before I offend anyone here.  (I am good at doing that on occasion) I want everyone to know that I take the disease known as Cancer in any of its forms very seriously.  I have lost several friends to this heinous illness, and I have a cousin who I know may read this who is winning her bout with it.  Ever since I was a little kid if something scared me I would turn and laugh at it.  My sense of humor has always been one of my greatest strengths, and in many cases a very strong defense mechanism.  In this case, the event scared the “What is that smell?” out of me.  I have to laugh at it to keep my sanity.  All of that being said please know I do not lack any compassion for those who have faced or who are fighting cancer.  So with all of that being said, if you choose to read on, please enjoy…..

CHRIS PITTS AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIECE OF TONGUE (PART 1)

As I sit here and write this something is bugging me.  I really can’t put my finger on it other than to say I have a weird sensation on the bottom of my tongue.  I can’t really tell because I can’t put my tongue on it to check it like you would a sore tooth.  It’s on my tongue!  Oh wait.  Several weeks ago a piece of my tongue went missing!

Flashback 1930’s North Africa.  Oh wait, not that far.  Flash back several weeks ago.  I had to go to my dentist for a checkup.  Now I am sure that all-in-all dentists are nice people.  They have just chosen a profession that most people given a choice would not partake of their chosen craft.  I am one of those people….

I would rather have a tooth pulled than have to visit a dentist.   WAIT……

OK so let’s get beyond all of that and get to the reality that I actually made it to my dentist and was able to sit in the chair and the wonderful work of teeth cleaning begun.  It is at this point where I am having a one sided discussion (Why do they ask questions of you with both hands in your mouth?) with my hygienist that she pauses.

“Do you realize that you have a white spot on your tongue?”

“Whargh BYU targing abut wete sputa om ne tingue?”  (Translated:  What are you talking about white spot on my tongue?)

“Yes right here on the right side you have a white spot on the bottom of your tongue.  I will need to check with (Name withheld to protect the innocent.) But you have a very discernible white spot on your tongue!  Haven’t you seen it?”

Now what is really amazing here is that Dental Hygienists have mastered the language known as “Talk with two hands in your mouth.” It takes years of practice and is required for anyone to become a Dental Hygienist.  Just so you know.

Second, she asked me if I had seen the white spot on my tongue!  Who looks at their tongue?  It’s just there.  It does its thing whatever that is, and we all go on happy and healthy knowing that.  NO one gets up in the morning and says “Gee I guess I better look in the mirror and see how my tongue is doing!  Then I’ll have some hash browns.”  NO ONE DOES THAT!  (Tell me no one does that….. Please.)

FYI - Even when she showed me the “white spot” in the mirror I couldn’t see the white spot. 

Then the Dentist came in and takes a look at my tongue and he gets a look on his face like he just walked into a room where someone has been cooking three week old Red Snapper.

“Definitely a white spot.  We’ll need to send you to a specialist to get it checked out.  We don’t want to take any chances right?”

In my mind “What white spot?!?!?!?!”

Soooo at that point, my head full of questions I went back to work.  Couldn’t really think of anything else to do at that point.  All rational thinking room was at that moment occupied by questions.

I thought about going and having a beer.  People on TV go and have a beer when they get disconcerting news.  But I don’t drink beer.  So that wasn’t any good.  Maybe I should take up drinking Weinhard’s Root Beer in cases like this.  Who knows.  I usually drink Mountain Dew, but I just read an article that says it has an ingredient  that can cause cancer.  So that seemed like a terrible idea really.

Next, I take the advice of my Dentist and go and see a “Specialist” about the there or not there white spot on the bottom of my tongue.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!

Deep 4th of July Thoughts - With Christopher Pitts

After last night’s fireworks display in my neighborhood, around the Taylorsville and West Jordan area, I am pretty sure that I know how the Germans felt after being shelled for hours on end just prior to D-Day.  Or in a more American vein, how the center line at Gettysburg felt as they were bombarded by the Confederacy for three hours just prior to the infamous Pickett’s Charge.

I am just saying that there was likely more firepower shot off last night in this area than in the initial phases of the Shock and Awe campaign in Iraq.

I love the 4th of July!  It is amazing!  And not just because I have an enduring love for all things artillery.  I live in a great nation that I truly am proud to be a part of.  I love my country!

A couple of weeks ago after a grueling session of Stake Conference (I am in the Stake IT group.  We have had some problems with our between building transmissions….) I was rewarded with a wonderful, glorious loud long buzzing!  I heard it long before I saw it.  And I knew exactly what it was.  That sound cuts through my soul like the roar of a lion.  Only twice in my life have I seen an American B-17 Bomber from World War II in flight.  Each time it has brought a tear to my eye.  It is truly a glorious sight. 

Seeing these planes makes me think of a simpler time.  In my opinion, a better time.  It was certainly a time of people who possessed great courage and character.

Back then, stepping into one of these aircraft meant you were certainly putting your life on the line.  You were entering a plane that had no pressurization and no heater.  At a certain elevation you would be warmer in your Kelvinator.  You were also certain to be subjected to mile after mile of flak (anti-aircraft artillery) and enemy fighter planes which were much lighter and quicker than the Flying Fortress that you had embedded yourself in.  I have seen pictures of these planes that returned to England with pieces of German fighter plane stuck in their fuselage.  I have even seen pictures of these planes that landed that had the entire front of the aircraft torn off.  The B-17 was a tough airplane.  But it was also slow and vulnerable.  If it was unlucky enough to be shot down very few of its crew were likely to make it out of the dying plane.

Lots of these men never came home.  My point is,  they never questioned what they were called to do whether they were Army, Navy Air Force, Marines or any of the other branches of the service that protected our nation during that turbulent time.  They stepped up to defend the freedom of our nation and other nations whose freedoms were threatened by tyranny.  

The bodies of American soldiers line the fields of France as proof of this.

Some time ago my brother and sister-in-law and I were up wandering the Salt Lake City Cemetery looking for family names for our genealogy.  As I was walking across the cemetery something gold and blue caught my eye.  I know that symbol.  It is the symbol for the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Instinctively I stopped to look.  After all here lay one of our nation’s finest.  It was then that my heart stopped.  The death date on this marker was December 7th 1941.  This soldier’s medal was issued posthumously.

I realize this post has a bit of a more serious vein than usual.  I offer no apologies for this.  I instead offer two challenges to anyone who has a chance to read this.  First always remember that freedom is not free!  For each freedom that we enjoy on a daily basis someone paid the ultimate price.  Honor those lives daily by not just being a good citizen, but by being a patriot.  Love and be thankful for our great nation every day!

Second, if you get the opportunity, seek out someone who served our country.  See if you can get them to talk to you about their experiences.  Some may not.  It’s hard for them to do so.  Some I am sure hold it in out of humility.  Growing up my neighbor had flown fighter planes in the Pacific.  In all of the mock battles that I set up in my yard, which I am sure that he saw, he never once mentioned that.  My family only found out about it after his funeral.  But if they do speak about their experiences, you are in for an event that will change your life.  In my opinion these men are shining examples of what we should all aspire to be!

Thank you.

God Bless The U.S.A.!