Is It Safe, America?

One for the books on so many levels. A pearl among downers. The guy is broke and has no money or insurance so now he is screwed in court as well. Maybe he should have robbed a bank or gotten money from the money fairy to pay for the dentist?

The kid here, he's enterprising! You won't take me dad, I'll do it myself. Freelance dentistry or "unlicensed dentistry" as it is sometimes called has a long and proud tradition in this country and Europe as well. There was a movie about it once. "Marathon Man." Tough to sit through! Yaaaaghhhh!

In the past this would have been called good old fashioned American engine-nuity. Now it's just so much bad news. They make it all sound so wrong. Imagine if he had done a really GOOD job and pulled out the teeth completely? Would you have given the dad any credit THEN? No, right?

Plus it says "police say" the boy pulled out his own teeth? What did the KID say? Is anybody thinking about THAT, huh?

The final downer, as always - you can't win.

A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment after his teenage son tried to pull out his own teeth because he hadn't been taken to a dentist.

The Express-Times of Easton reports that 40-year-old Francisco Torres told a Northampton County judge Monday that he "procrastinated" in getting the boy dental care.

Police say the boy tried to pull out his teeth after complaining of pain for several months. He broke two teeth and needed emergency surgery to have the fragments removed. He is now 14.

The Express-Times report says Torres told the court he had insurance problems that contributed to the delay.

[Associate Press]