Anger can be a powerful emotion and it takes patience and persistence to control, especially in times of great stress. It should go without saying you don’t need a genius (or maybe you do, I’m not sure) to tell you most anger is derived from fear.

Being said, I’ll tell you nothing strikes more fear in me than the sight of a needle and the thought of it being jammed into my skin by some guy in a white coat, calling himself a dentist.

As it turned out, I had a cavity. Of course, that means Mr. Dentist and his lovely assistant get to shoot me full of mouth numbing Novocain by way of, yup you guessed it, a long pointy needle.

There I sat in the dentist chair, all the while a drop dead gorgeous nurse paraded around in her little white outfit. Keep in mind, this outfit is something only overzealous guys (and some girls, possibly) would drool over and most people would only see in cheesy fantasies. I found this to be very fitting, considering she was about to become the devil’s assistant in my eyes, just as soon as the devil himself waddled his way over to my chair.

Of course, the first thing the dentist did once he got to my room was feed me some stupid joke only the nurse found amusing. Oh yeah, I really wanted to hear a pointless joke just prior to being stuck with a needle in my cheek, all of which would be followed by your overpaid drilling on a hole in my tooth.

Then, surprise, he just had to look at the cavity several times before he could give me the shot. After about the fourth look, apparently he was overly infatuated with the hole, and based that on his decision to then stick a long, sharp pointy utensil right in the cavity hole. Let me tell you, I was extremely pleased with that decision.

Unfortunately, after all the grief, it was finally time for the shot. The dentist sat and held the needle in front of me like I was supposed to welcome it in my mouth with open arms. So, I made the inevitable choice and closed my eyes. He administered the shot and it was over.

Then the pain set in. I called him several belligerent things, using as much profanity as possible, which also included me calling him the son of a very bad, bad woman. Obviously I was only saying these things in my head. Still, I would have given anything to give in to my anger, but I showed some control. Anyway, my face went numb and after an hour of drilling, the cavity was fixed.

I suppose there is a lesson to be learned after all of this. Some people are going to tell me I only have myself to blame for not taking care of my teeth, which could be true, but thanks to free speech, I disagree.