the tooth guy

rawalpindi, pakistan

ive seen a lot of different ones: the sugar guy, who sits with a cloud of flies and chips bits of sugar off his block into his scale and then pours it directly into peoples pockets, the watch guy who sits on the pavement with a large hammer and flattens old timepieces to sell the parts, the incense guy who hobbles from his traffic cone seat to nearly set light to the obliging shopkeepers wares, and the lighter refill guys, who is an ace at refilling disposable lighters. But today i saw for the first time the tooth guy.

the tooth guy sits in the gutter and sells (and presumably buys)human teeth. they are arranged very nicely mind, incisors with incisors, and molars with molars in a clean glass case. i guess his official title is semi permanent dental prosthetic surgeon. he's got all different sizes, and gold and silver ones too. even better, he will fit it and install it for you right there in the street. all for a special price my friend. worryingly he has a large mallet just like the watch guy, but obviously is not as concerned with time. as i sat conversing jovially with him, at least three passers by ran up, pulled their jaws wide open at me and screamed with pain, along with a vigourous shaking of the finger.

anything you want. absolutely anything.

rx