Tag: anatomy

Re: Dent

Going to a dentist can put a dent in your bank account, especially if you don’t have insurance. I’ve never understood why teeth, eyes, and feet are not considered body parts worthy of Canada’s excellent health care system. I arranged a meeting with my Member of Parliament regarding the fact that my pension was considered too high for me to be included in the new free-access dental plan. Nothing was done about my complaint. That put a dent in my ego.

A teen-aged friend of mine once shocked me by purposefully kicking his car’s body, creating a noticeable dent on the surface. He had just brought it home from a used-car lot. I was congratulating him for being able to afford wheels. He explained that he didn’t want to drive around feeling worried all the time about that inevitable first fender-bender. This way he could make his mark before someone else did. Maybe in his mind he felt one good dent did not deserve another. He drove that car for a long time. It collected lots of scars. He called it a ‘Beater’, claiming it still worked, wouldn’t get stolen, and was easy to spot in a parking lot. A car with character!

Dents don’t need to be viewed as negative, or so I learned from that friend. A mar on something doesn’t means the object is close to being discarded. Taken to the extreme, we may look at others, spot their imperfections, and pass them off as abnormal. This fact of human nature makes me applaud plastic surgeons who enable children born with cleft pallets to appear normal. I would normally see these procedures as an act of vanity when it comes to rich folk maintaining their youthful looks (to me that’s a dent in character). But judgement is a slippery slope when it comes to defining Need, or Perfection. That’s why there are Art critics.

Sometimes aberrations in the flow while looking at an object can be pleasing to the eye. Furniture can be purposefully distressed to add to its design features. Raw edge shelving is hot right now, because I think it speaks to the variety found in nature; a smooth shoreline can be eroded by tidal action, wave action can make dents of all shapes and sizes in sandstone, just as the drip-drip-drip of raindrops in a temperate rain forest can sculpt the hardest rock. My definition of Beauty is not Perfection. Age creates its own sort of beauty; wrinkles can be the most intriguing make-up in my opinion. 

Growing older creates dents in our physical selves. The other day I scratched off a hard denticle-like thing on my skin, which resolved into a small crater. I wondered if I was moving into a shark-like phase of development. Mentally, I like beginning a project, or making a dent in it, before I run out of energy or motivation. There are increasing dents in my memory, but I think that just makes me a funny old grandpa. Hopefully not one who needs dentures.

Re: Sprawl

In my present location I look out from a fifth floor balcony at many square miles of identical rooftops. Without a GPS to guide you, there is a real risk of getting lost when you go out for a walk in such a neighbourhood. This is referred to as urban sprawl, an expression coined in the 1930s to describe areas of aggressive, largely unrestricted housing development.

My posture can be considered urban sprawl since I’m citified and have been lounging a lot lately. I’ll blame Covid slowdown for the way my body has begun to sprawl. Parts of me are spreading out, boldly going where they’ve not ventured before. I admit, slothfulness has always been one of my characteristics, but in the morning, once I am vertical, I have a certain energy. When I walk I have been considered quite military in bearing. In fact some folk have pointed out that my body sort of slants backwards a few degrees even while I am strolling. It’s a different matter when I sit.

Lounging about may give me a bad reputation for seeming to not care or being unambitious. I do care. I can be active when the time is right. However, I’m not very flexible. I am uncomfortable sitting at ninety degrees to eat a meal at a table. But then again eating is not a favourite pastime. If you help me into and out of a beanbag chair I might be inclined to stay there all day. I like the current expression for lazing about as ‘just chilling’. Breathing is easier in this position. I can do my best crossword puzzle solving while sprawled across a comfy couch.

I have a stepson who likes to say, “If you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space.” My need for comfort is not about entitlement, however in public I try to be respectful. The municipal government of Madrid takes sprawling on public transport very seriously. Manspreading is rude. There are signs and fines for validating your manliness over more than your share of seat. In Canada there is debate about the space men command to be comfortable. https://torontosun.com/2014/12/29/anti-manspreading-campaign-called-sexist

Hands behind my head, back angled at least 110 degrees to my thighs, legs splayed and feet supported by a stool. This is my characteristic configuration as I read, type these words or watch television. My body was meant for a Lazy-Boy recliner, but I don’t have one so I improvise. With the right number of cushions I can be comfortable sprawling on the floor, up against a wall. I can hear people telling me not to slouch, it’s bad for your back, you look sloppy, even slovenly. I can’t argue with that.

I’ll conclude by agreeing that municipal sprawl is the antithesis of edgy and personal sprawl in public lacks grace. Meanwhile, I have a foldable chaise lounge perfect for sprawl worthy moments. I’ll be outside with a magazine if you need me.