Menopausal Ears

the unfortunate result of an uninvited fungal element

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Since I returned from my most recent trip to Tokyo several weeks ago, I’ve had a more difficult transition than I can remember. Tokyo was magnificent when I left in the middle of May: the breezes temperate; the shrines and temples glinting gold and serene; the giant, majestic trees flaunting their lush, emerald canopies.

Then I arrived in New York City in the deep fry of a heat wave. If you’ve ever been here during one of these, you’re familiar with the side dishes: the sizzling sidewalks; the piles of steaming garbage; the aggressive crankiness of the street life, all generously sprinkled with a primordial stink.

Anticipating a necessary subway excursion, I longed for Tokyo and its immaculate metro.

But an odd thing happened on the 1 train in Manhattan as it sped downtown toward Penn Station. The subway car was packed. The ubiquitous aroma: old baloney. The car lurched and dragged as we standing passengers tried to remain upright. My backpack, unfortunately, kept knocking one of the people behind me. I looked down the car to see faces bearing almost every human ingredient imaginable: every color and shape, every proud style of hair and costume, every age—it was a gorgeous stew, all of us peaceably traveling together to our destinations.

When I turned toward the muscled young guy my backpack was attacking, he might’ve shot me a vicious glance (or, less politely, snapped me like a twig). “I’m sorry, man,” I said to him, gesturing to my backpack. His face cracked into a lovely smile. “That’s okay, Miss,” he said. “No problem.” After a particularly grand lurch, another passenger, a woman not much younger than I, asked if I was all right.

“I am,” I said. I really am.

And then, of course, the Knicks! A lovely coda of shared exuberance and joy.

A friend sent this photo of the Tokyo Tower the night of the Knicks’ victory. (It was actually lit up to celebrate the World Cup. Whatever!)

Tiptoe around the paywall for an expert’s advice about why menopausal ears might need extra care.

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