The Most Expensive Bag of Carmel Corn in the History of Mankind
Thinking of putting off things that you know you need to be doing differently as you build your program, Coach? Don't.
You’ve seen these guys at your local fair or farmers market, right?
They’ve got the big kettle full of popcorn kernels…they’re adding in some sweet stuff, and a little carmel, and stirring it with a big wooden paddle. You know what I’m talking about, right?
I’m a sucker for it.
Last September, my wife and I went to the world famous Liberty Antiques Festival in a nearby North Carolina town. I guess that’s a sign you’re getting older, right?…you go to antique festivals?
So we walk in, and I know we’re going to be there for a long, long time, and I smell the scent of fresh kettle corn. Had to get some. Got in line, shelled out my $10 for the big bag, and started the antique hunting. Not two minutes into the bag, I popped a few kernels into my mouth, bit down, and felt something that I knew wasn’t normal. I may have even heard a little bit of a crack…that’s not good. Felt like my tooth was loose, too. That’s definitely not good.
Like the typical Gen-X man that I am, I ignored it as long as I could…which was about two hours. I had that sinking feeling I needed to go to my dentist to get it checked out. Sure enough, I cracked not just one tooth, but two. One wasn’t as bad as the other, though, so I opted to just get the crown for one and not both. I justified it that decision at the time, somehow…”maybe it’ll heal itself” (dumb)…”maybe I won’t feel any pain for a few years” (just as dumb)…”maybe it’ll cost less if I do it in two separate sessions” (delusional).
As you’re reading this today, on the morning of July 11, 2024, I’ll be getting the second crown procedure done for the other tooth. I felt the pain increasing two or three weeks ago, and I knew my time was up.
Why didn’t I just get it all done at once like my gut was telling me to do?
Denial of the reality of a cracked molar.
Didn’t want to go through additional discomfort with the initial procedure.
Thought by putting it off maybe it would just go away.
Didn’t want to spend anything more than I could get away with the first time around.
And, if I’m being honest, I hadn’t had a crown procedure before. Which meant it was an unknown…which meant I was a little uneasy about the whole thing.
A $10 bag of kettle corn ended up costing me way more than it should have, monetarily and otherwise. Maybe you’ve been in that situation before. As college coach, maybe in that situation right now. Not with a cracked tooth, but with a struggling program…
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