I first started exchanging emails with a reader up in Trail, B.C., named Fred after referring to Neil Young in a column years ago.

Fred is a big fan. I don't know if he is in the same league as retired features editor Rick Bonino when it comes to being a Young fan. But Fred is a serious Neilophile.

Anyway, he saw today's column about dealing with fear of dentistry. And it reminded him of a story.

He had come down to Spokane to have wisdom teeth extracted. And before they administered the knockout gas, the staff at the orthodontic office asked Fred a series of questions.

Most were about his health and medical history. But at some point the fact that he had not received his mailed instructions about fasting after midnight prompted someone to wonder about the validity of the address they had for him. So Fred was asked "When's the last time you moved?"

But Fred, well, he thought they were still talking about bodily stuff, so he answered this way:

"I had a bowel movement last night before 6 o'clock."

The folks at the clinic thought this was the funniest thing they had ever heard.   

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