The engines coughed, sputtered and roared into action and the big airliner taxied out from the terminal in Chicago, where my friend Dr. Fuller Warden, my wife Beverly and myself, had spent six days at the Chicago Mid-winter Dental Meeting. As usual, we were exhausted from trying to glean every grain of knowledge that would help us solve the many problems that beset us in the practice of dentistry. We had attended as many clinics as possible, renewed old friendships, and made many new ones, among which were the members of the Chicago Academy of Dental Research. This group of twelve men has probably spent more time and money in an effort to ferret out the answers to the problems of dentistry than any other twelve men in the world. They put on annual seminars and bring in the foremost authorities on the various phases of dentistry. The highlight of our trip was meeting and spending time with these men, discussing dental problems.

Just at this moment in my thoughts, Fuller leaned over from the seat ahead of Beverly and me and said, "The fellows of the Academy remind me of Knights of old in the days of King Arthur." He saw them mounted on beautiful horses, in shining armor, with weapons of every description, going forth to slay the dragon of dental disease. Although every year had brought frustration and failure, this only made them more resolute to get together annually and look over and discuss new weapons that some authority said would make them victorious. Then with the new weapons, and armor shining they would once   again go forth to do battle with the dragon for another year. Grinning at each other over the comparison, Fuller and I settled back in o u r seats and I thought to myself that dentistry should be proud to have knights such as these to fight the dragon that was devouring the populace. I silently wished them success.

The runways were covered with ice and snow and the airplane made a rocking motion as it rolled over the humps of ice, with the drone of the engines and the rocking to and fro of the plane, drowsiness overcame me and my eyes slowly closed. I looked forward to the three-hour sleep I would get on the trip home to Tulsa. But sleep was denied me, as I kept chuckling to myself at what it would be like if this giant spectacle of dentistry were held back in the days of King Arthur. Let me share this thought with you.

I could see my long and lanky six-foot-five friend, Fuller, dressed in a monk’s robe of burlap, moving along a path astride a ridiculously small burro. He was just one of many dressed and mounted in the same way, in a line that stretched over the hill behind. Forward in the distance, with the early dawn breaking over it, was a gigantic castle with all types of bright colored banners flying from the parapets. Multitudes of people were milling about the castle grounds and onto, what appeared to be, a huge playing field.

Sparsely mixed among the multitudes were knights in shining armor, mounted on beautiful stallions, carrying weapons of all sorts, surrounded by admirers and attempting to stay aloof from the crowd, which was loudly singing the praises of, and placing bets on their champions. Fuller wended his way through the crowd and entered a door over which hung this sign:

YE OLDE CONRAD HILTON
HOSTELRY

Inside the lobby a giant sign hung from the ceiling.

Welcome To The 86th Annual
Tournament Of Barber Surgeons

Please register and fill out a card
giving your full name and hamlet.
Tickets to hear your favorite knight
exhort on his weapons to be used to
kill the dragon of dental disease can
be purchased at the registration
desk. Main events will start on the
playing field at ten o’clock.

Fuller greeted old friends and invariably the group edged toward the nearest ale spigot. Over the brew they discussed the knights they thought had the most answers, each always belittling the other fellow’s choice.

Sharply at ten, a bugle sounded and the crowd moved out and settled on the grass surrounding the playing field. All eyes were on the archway at one end where a knight in full regalia was ready to make his entrance.