My better half just forwarded me this bit of news, from the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce:

This is not a good time to break a tooth. Especially if you are a patient of Dr. Jack Horbal of [Chicago]. Dr. Horbal’s voice on the telephone, Marcia, started her calls first thing Monday, canceling all appointments for the next two weeks. Dr. Jack was home packing and trying to hustle up plane tickets to Maryland where he is joining a unit of forensic dentists heading for New Orleans [to assist after Hurricane Katrina]. The less-than-expected fatalities will not get him home any faster because part of his job will be to identify the formerly buried corpses by their dental records.

To quote Pennywise the Clown in Stephen King's "IT," "Oh yes, we all float - and when you're down here with us, you'll float too!" Darn. So our dentist is a certfied forensic dentist. And we were just about to make appointments to get our teeth cleaned.

UPDATE: Terrible, terrible news from the Katrina Zone...New Orleans' mayor reports that there may be thousands of dead in the hurricane's wake, making Katrina America's worst hurricane ever. [1969's Camille took the lives of less than 300]

[P.S.] Not to make light of this dreadful tragedy; but if you're not a regular reader of this blog, be advised that yours truly often employs black humor to deal with horrors like these. It's an East European thing.

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