I really don't like dentists.

The phone rang.

I answered.

"Hello?"

It was my grandpa. His friend Osama bin Laden, a dentist, was visiting, he said, and he and my grandma wanted to bring him over to see our family. We agreed.

While we awaited their arrival, my parents replaced our coffee table with a dentist chair so Dr. bin Laden would be impressed. When the doorbell rang, we lined up single file -- my mom, my dad, my brother and me. And in they walked: Nana, Popop and Osama.

"Who will be first?" Osama asked.

None of us budged. So he pointed at my brother.

"You," he said. "In the chair."

While my brother sat in the dentist chair and opened up his mouth, my family stood mortified. I knew, I thought, that it was a bad idea. I knew Osama was going to hurt my brother.

After a few minutes, Osama backed away from the chair. My brother stood up. He turned toward my family, still standing in single file.

"That," he said,"was the best dental examination of my life!"

Then, I woke up.

- - - -

I had this dream in high school.