Issue 8
Josh Thomas Had Five Wisdom Teeth
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Joshua Thomas
Undergraduate/Social Studies
Hello Flip Side and also it is true; I
really did have five wisdom teeth. All of
them were taken out over winter break.
The extra one was up top where they’re
smaller. Apart from a small bruise on my
cheek, a bit of soreness and a good deal
of swelling I recovered very quickly and
without much pain. This came as quite
a surprise to me; in the days leading up
to my surgery I was extremely nervous
about how I would survive the coming
weeks. For some of my friends who had
gone through this operation before they
recovered quickly, but for many others
only horror stories uttered from their lips.
These ranged from infections and dry
sockets to the anesthetic being ineffective
and problems even their dentists had not
dealt with before. Some of these were
because of bad luck, everyone’s mouth is
different and will react differently to the
extraction, but some of these problems
could have easily been prevented by following
the instructions given to them by
the doctor post-op.
Flip Side, why do we do this to
ourselves? Why do we disobey doctors
of all people? Doctors and surgeons and
dentists who are giving us some of the
most common sense advice? My dentist
told me to floss and that if I did my
swollen gum line would heal. I didn’t
floss, it didn’t heal. Now I am flossing
and surprise, no more blood when I spit
out my toothpaste. How did she know??
Well what else did I expect, that the
dentists are just lying to us? I suppose
some of the reason can be chalked up to
simple lethargy but we cannot overlook
apathy either. I just didn’t care about
flossing. If I had continued to not care
about flossing then I may have come a
lot closer to losing the bone under my
gum which is impossible to recover from.
My decision to take flossing seriously is
not something many people can bring
themselves to do. It seems like too many
people either have done it from the get
go or never have and never will even
though they really, really could.
Is it the permanency that we have a
have hard wrapping our heads around?
Perhaps it’s the delay in time before a
condition causes permanent repercussions
that blinds us to the reality of what
it could mean. Common story: doc says
if I don’t stop eating so much junk food
I might have a heart attack couple years
down the road but that doesn’t mean I
have to stop just now. Couple years later:
Maybe I should have listened, but it’s too
late to start now. Is it because we have
trouble imagining an alternative to what
we’re doing? We’d rather be comfortable
and risk health concerns than uncomfortable
but safe? I have a friend with
gastrointestinal problems and his doctor
says he can’t drink soda. He’s going
to drink it anyway and risk his health
because he’s such a badass instead of
finding a new drink that blows soda out
of the water.
Here is what I really want to ask.
Why don’t more of us care about our
health? I find myself able to enjoy a
variety of both things that are good for
you (healthy foods, moderate exercise,
dare I say even a little studying?) and
things that are not so good for you (junk
food, drinking, and just doing whatever I
want) without the bad things being done
in such excess that the good is rendered
completely useless. I’ve seen people
drink themselves into the hospital, drug
themselves out of passing a class, smoke
themselves out of a quarter of their
life, and eat themselves out of the good
health they were born with, and I don’t
understand why anymore when we know
what all of this leads to.
Flip Side, I’m an advocate of you
smoking what you want, drinking what
you want, eating what you want, and hell
putting your penis wherever it’s welcome
if that’s what you want too, but for shit’s
sake why can’t more of you just take it all
in moderation? Is chugging five shots of
liquor in half an hour the only way you
can enjoy alcohol? Is eating a hundredth
of your bodyweight in fries the only
method for enjoying a meal? Is smoking
to the point of smelling so bad that it is
physically appearing on your face really
the best way for you to chill out? The
answer if it wasn’t obvious is: of course
fucking not. Unless you’re addicted to
smoking, in which case eventually that
does become the only way, and unless you
decide with all of your might to quit,
your health and your money have effectively
been stolen by a corporation that
thinks even less of you than people who
hate smoking.
My challenge to you, Flip Side: don’t
goddamn die before you ought to. The
future is worth living for! Newt Gingrich
is going to put a base on the moon by
2020 and maybe flying cars won’t be too
far off next. You like flying cars don’t you,
Flip Side?
Are you waiting?
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Sam Wolff
Undergraduate
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can come to realize
that you reside in a sinful hole
but in truth its of no significant size
when you let Him seize you by the soul
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can fully accept
that in the dust was your birth
but you don’t have to be swept
by the winds of the earth
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can open your ear
to the wisdom of the Spirit
take hold of your fear
and let the unseen cure it
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can live for one
and the pain will be eased
realize the war can be won
and your heart will be pleased
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can stand your ground
firmly rooted in happiness
the Spirit healing every wound
that your sinful desires always miss
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can completely trust
and live free as a dove
you can conquer your lust
and radiate His love
If you’re waiting for the day
when you can declare to the sky
“I don’t understand,
but I’ll grab your hand.
I don’t know why
but I will try”
If you’re waiting...
That day is today, tomorrow, and yesterday
because of the price He chose to pay
Sterilized
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Sebastian M. Armendariz
Undergraduate/English
Visually attacked with
Tragedy
Presented without
Pageantry
Connected by invisible umbilical cords
To the stepmother of Earth
We do not belong to each other
We are not related by birth
Yellow sign
Burning bright daily into
The soul of my
Retina
Reads:
Injury to one is an Injury to All
Is that true, when the nameless
Average tread through these worldly weeds?
Humans synthesized into
Chewable pills
Arabic digits present
The insignificant thrills
Of Kills
By the incomprehensible thousands
To the anticipating millions
Staring
Sterilized.
Jesus and God
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Matt Novacek
Undergraduate/History
when the time has come to live and grow
that›s when you plant the seed you sow
let it grow into the tree of life
yet it was robbed by a man and his wife
so life pressed on but in sin
and the sons and daughters must be forgiven
the game of life had rules bent
but God never forgot his covenant
and so He looked at what happened to man
and it became clear we threw away God›s plan
so we had to seek forgiveness, every one of us
God knew this, He sent His son, Jesus
Jesus walked this planet with wisdom and grace
he became our Lord and Savior for every living race
with him, humanity will accept or deny
either grow in truth, or believe in the lie
with every breath we live, you and I
only to find someday that we may die
but I speak to you those who are guessing
in Jesus and God, there›s life everlasting
Long Gone
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Lily Forsman
Undergraduate/Spanish Education
The ghost of a tear haunts my barren eye
Echoes of a whisper that will never be resonate within me
A phantom touch sends shivers down my spine, relentless
The knife in my gut twists of its own volition
Wordless shrieks demand answers and invoke distress
I can’t help but wonder if you know what I’ve done
Standing Alone at a Crosswalk at Night
12/31/1969 - 19:00
Standing alone at a crosswalk at night
Watching the rain drip off of
The streetlight, the stoplights, the headlights
Carrying with it a spark of golden color if only
For a little while until its flight ends
Suddenly striking solid earth and is
Swallowed up by the endless sea of black.
Feeling the wind sting any exposed
Skin as the cars drive by, their
Tires creating waves which
Endlessly drown the weeds
That used to thrive between the
Cracks of broken tar.
Hearing nothing but the wet sounds of raindrops,
And the tires which squeal and
Shriek against the puddles which have
Formed their own oasis against the
Dead leaves and cigarette butts.
The clean rain cannot wash away
The smell of the dead and dying
Plants that mark the turning of
Seasons in their own way;
Forming piles of amber corpses
That will soon be forgotten.
Standing alone at a crosswalk at night
The taste is sweet and frigid
A foggy breath rises up and away from my mouth,
Dispersing into the blackness its
Journey reflected in the shining lights,
Uninterrupted by the falling rain.
