Over the course of the average lifetime you meet a lot of people.
Some of them stick with you through thick and thin.
Some weave their way through your life, and disappear forever.
But once in a while, someone comes along who earns a permanent place in your heart.
Someone like, say...
Hi, Kevin!
Miss Hasenfuss, my dental hygienist.
Hi, Miss Hasenfuss!
I'm ready for you now.
Actually, she was more than just my dental hygienist.
So, have you been brushing?
You bet. Every day.
Take a look.
Our relationship went beyond lower incisors and upper bicuspids and dental floss.
She was someone I could really talk to.
So, how's it been going?
Oh, busy.
You?
Well...you know.
Open...
She smelled like Ivory soap and herbal shampoo...
And knew all the right things to say to make a man feel like...a man.
Spit!
And even though we met only twice a year...
It was pretty clear we had something...
Special.
- Last one. Say "Cheeeeese!" - Cheeeeese.
We'll let the doctor take a look at these.
But, I'm sure that they'll be perfect. Like usual.
But it wasn't until the X-rays were over and the big lead bib came off...
That our relationship really came alive.
How's school going?
Great! I graduate ninth-grade this year.
Really! Quite an accomplishment.
Well, you know...
We shared things - man to woman...
Woman to man.
You know, I've never really told anybody this before.
But...
Promise you won't laugh?
Oh, no...I-I mean yes......I promise.
I thought I would like to go back to school some day.
Really?
I think so.
There is only so far you can go in life cleaning teeth. You know what I mean?
Oh, oh - of course.
But I never had the courage.
All those tests.
Tests scare me.
God, was she cute!
Oh, tests aren't so bad.
I mean, I've taken a bunch of tests. I bet you'll do fine.
Hmmm...Really think so?
Oh, absolutely. No question about it.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
But I think...I'm just not a very courageous person. Not like you.
And there you had it.
Total mutual admiration.
I admired her for her, uh...
I saved you the blue one.
Tooth brushes...
Thanks!
And she admired me for my courage.
He's chicken.
Come on, guys, knock it off! Will ya?
Look, all he has to do is slip this thing onto Mr. Gardenia's chair in study hall.
It will be a riot!
Maybe he'll think it's not so funny.
Guys, give it up! If he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't want to do it.
Yeah.
OK, then - you do it!
Why don't you do it? It's your idea.
At fourteen, true heroism has less to do with actual logic...
And more to do with pure stupidity.
OK - I'll do it! But you guys have to do it next time.
- Yeah! - Alright!
You guys are completely idiotic.
Maybe so. But I wasn't the kind of guy to shrink from a challenge. I was a man of action.
Hey, butthead!
A man with a brother.
Hasenfuss called.
A man who got phone calls from his dental hygienist.
She did? What'd she say?
What do I look like - your secretary? She said she wanted to see you this afternoon.
Now, since I wasn't due for a check-up for another six months, this could mean only one thing...
It had to be personal.
Boy, you got here fast!
Oh! I was just in the neighborhood.
Did you...Want me?
Kevin, I have something to tell you...
And I'm not quite sure how you're gonna take it.
Maybe not. But standing there, the possibilities seemed endless.
What is it?
You have a cavity.
You're gonna have to see Doctor Tucker.
OK, let's have a look-see. Open!
Pick!
Thank you...
Wider!
Ah! Hasenfuss - look at this!
Just as I thought. Cavity...
Lower second bicuspid. Big sucker.
Now a word of explanation here. I'd never had a cavity before.
Still under Miss Hasenfuss' watchful eye, I figured...
How bad could it be?
Ahhhhh!!!!
Hmmm, still sensitive?
Yeah...
Good.
Kevin, are you alright?
Of course I wasn't. But then, I had an image to maintain here.
Fine! It was...fine.
It was just a-a...
Charley-horse. In my leg.
Well, you sure were brave.
A lot braver than me.
That cavity looked pretty serious.
I probably would have jumped out of my skin.
Nah, it was nothin'.
After all, that smile was reward enough for a few moments of agony.
Especially now that it was all over.
Make an appointment on your way out.
An appointment?
Well...that sucker isn't getting any smaller.
Were gonna have to drill it and fill it.
Book him, Hasenfuss. Next!
Was this guy joking? No way I was coming back.
How's Wednesday sound?
Fine.
A cavity? Honey, that's too bad!
She didn't know the half of it.
Well, I suppose that's why we have dentists, don't we?
I'm sure Dr. Tucker will take good care of you.
Thanks, Mom.
But it wasn't Dr. Tucker I was worried about.
It was looking like a craven coward in front of Miss Hasenfuss.
It was time to seek help.
From the Grand Poobah of tooth decay himself.
Wayne, you go to Doctor Tucker a lot, don't you?
None of your business.
Well, when you do, and he, well, when he...fills a cavity?
Does it hurt much?
Nah...He gives you Novocain.
Of course - Novocain.
And that works?
Sure...you don't feel a thing.
Once you get passed that needle. Ooh.
What needle?
The big one. 'Bout the size of a telephone pole.
See, he jams the thing right here...into your gums.
Then all you hear is sounds. Crunch - crack - zhhh-zhhh-zhhh!
Then you'll see tooth fragments flyin' everywhere.
And then there is this unbelievable smell.
Gotta be sure that you don't gag or somethin'.
But other than that...
It's a piece of cake.
That guy...What a kidder!
Are we ready?
I think so.
Open wide!
This may...sting a little.
Help! Help me!
Oh! Is that sensitive?
Hasenfuss!
And I thought you were a man of courage.
Fortunately, by the next day, I pretty much managed to calm my fears.
Hi Kevin! You ready?
Uh...I think so.
Sure, nothing to worry about here. Just a simple little filling.
Miss Hasenfuss?
Something wrong?
No. It's just...
Who was I kidding! I had to tell her.
Tell her I was scared.
Maybe she'd respect me for my honesty.
It's just...
There was this fire.
Fire?
Yeah. Yeah, at my house - so I gotta go.
Oh...I hope nobody was hurt?
No - no, no. Nobody was hurt. I just have to go now.
Right now.
There! Grace under pressure!
Suppose that was Squasnick?
I don't know.
I don't know what to think.
The night of that great dentist office bailout. I faced a sobering truth.
Scared, kid?
I wonder if I can take it. All the way, I mean.
I had fled in the face of battle. In front of Miss Hasenfuss! I was...a coward.
It's the fear of being afraid that frightens me more than anything else.
Just remember what the old man told you.
I was unworthy of my proud lineage.
Dad?
Hmmm?
You were in combat, right?
Sure... I was in combat.
Were you scared?
Well...I don't know if I'd call it scared. We had a job to do, and we did it.
It has nothing to do with cowardice.
A fellow is only yellow when he lets his fear make him quit.
No, when you're out there in the trenches and the smoke is stingin' your nose,
and the bullets are zippin' past your head like flies...
You don't have time to be scared.
And that's when it hit me.
If my father was that brave... Then maybe I had it in me, too.
Somewhere, down deep.
There's only one thing that ever scared the pants off me.
What's that?
The dentist.
I was left with one option. Hide among women who shop.
Honey, is something wrong?
No. No.
Oh, it's your tooth, isn't it?
No - it's nothing. Really.
How long did you say it's going to Dr. Tucker to recover from that ski accident?
Oh, what tangled webs we weave...
Mom, I gotta go get some...
Butter. - Butter
Face it. I was a man on the run.
Running from fear, humiliation. Running from...
Kevin! Hi!
Hasenfuss.
Uh...
Jennifer? Hi!
Mrs. Arnold! Hello!
Oh my gosh - here they came.
The woman that I'd lied to... And the woman that I'd lied to...
The rock and the hard place.
- How have you been? - Fine. You?
Good. Look at all those books!
Yeah...I've been kinda reading up on things.
I'm thinking of taking some classes, but...I'm not sure.
Even though Kevin tells me I should.
- Right, Kevin? - Oh...
But I'm afraid I'm just not as brave as he is.
Ouch.
Anyway, I can't stop to chat - I have to get back to the office.
Uh-oh.
Dr. Tucker's office?
I was trapped. Like a rat in a ski accident.
- But I thought - - Mom?
It was time for some subtle creative thinking.
Uh, you know, she has to get back to the office.
And...you know, there's going to be traffic on the way home.
Have you seen the lines at the check-out counters?
Oh...
Well, I guess we really should go.
I'm sure we'll bump into each other again.
Phew. I was outta there. Free and clear.
Oh, and Kevin, don't forget to reschedule your appointment.
And I'm so sorry about the fire.
Fire?
So much for the best laid plans of mice and men.
Particularly mice with mothers.
There was no putting this off.
It was act now...or face the chair.
Dr. Tucker?
I'm Kevin Arnold...
Your patient?
Is this an emergency?
Well, kinda. See, I need to make an appointment.
Well, speak to Hasenfuss. She keeps the books.
Well, that's kind of the problem.
You see, I was wondering if...someone else could assist with the filling.
What's wrong with Hasenfuss?
Well, nothing. Nothing at all. She's great.
It's just...I'd just...rather have someone else, that's all.
Well! She's off Tuesdays. Why don't you come by at four o'clock?
Thanks.
You're the customer. Hah.
And it was done. I'd been spared.
Dr. Tucker?
You won't tell her, will you? That I didn't want her there?
Doctor, I forgot to remind you... You have a nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
I have to be getting back to work.
Kevin Arnold?
Here.
Oral hygiene...Was never gonna be the same again.
I'm ready for you now.
The thing is...
Even though I knew Miss Hasenfuss wouldn't be around, I could almost see her there.
In that room where we'd shared our hopes and dreams.
Kevin? Hi!
You're...here?
Did you come for your filling?
Yeah.
Good. You should get that taken care of.
Listen...Miss Hasenfuss.
I took your advice. Um, I'm leaving.
What?
My God, she was taking it harder than I thought.
Why?
I'm going back to school full-time. To become a dentist.
I think maybe for children.
I mean, now's as good a time as any, right?
I guess I'm kind of nervous.
I'm sure you'll do just fine.
Hey, I'll take all my kids to ya.
Promise?
And at that moment, I learned a little something about fear...and courage.
If this woman was brave enough to take life by the horns...
Maybe I could too.
Miss Hasenfuss?
I, uh...I have this filling.
Would you assist?
In the end that appointment wasn't any big deal after all.
In fact it was kinda a nice way to say farewell.
And sure...Maybe it was the Novocain coursing through my 98-pound body, but...
I guess Miss Hasenfuss had a tear in her eye.
And when it was all over... There was nothing left to say but...
Don't forget to brush!
You, too.
I never saw Miss Hasenfuss again after that day.
But I like to think that filling meant as much to her...as it did to me.
It's funny, but even now...whenever I pass a professional building,
I can't help but look for her name...and remember.
Good night, Miss Hasenfuss - wherever you are.
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