Do you think feet can suffer from PTSD? Today I laced up my hiking shoes, the same ones I wore on my Mt. Fuji trek, for a casual four-hour tour around Kamakura. There was a fair amount of street walking, some steep but easy hiking up and down wooded trails, and plenty of stair climbing, because everything in Kamakura is on a hill. By the time I got on the train to come home, my feet were screaming. I’m talking pain in every joint between my tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges, pre-blisters between my toes and all along my soles, and bone-deep bruises on my Fuji toes (second toe on each foot). This pain is totally out of proportion with the amount of walking I did. I’ve comfortably worn these hiking shoes on several occasions since climbing Mt. Fuji, so I can’t believe that my Merrells are suddenly devices of torture. However, it is the first time I’ve worn them for anything other than pavement pounding since sliding, stumbling, and limping down the mountain, and I’m really wondering if today’s rocky trails and numerous steps triggered podiatric flashbacks of giant blisters and dead toenails. So now I’ve got a dilemma. I’m supposed to go on a walking tour around Tokyo on Friday, and I was planning to wear these same hiking shoes, because frankly most of the shoes I own weren’t made for walkin’. There shouldn’t be any off-roading, and I expect the terrain to be relatively flat, so theoretically, my feet won’t be exposed to any reminders of past trauma. Maybe I can further insulate them from emotional distress with a pair of Dr. Scholls’ inserts.
Sunday, October 31, 2010--Pardon the interruption
Okay, this is ridiculous. I am behind on my blog entries. I am way behind on my blog entries. I have been behind for about 18 months. It’s not because Japan suddenly became uninteresting. Just the opposite. I’ve been too involved in day-to-day life and Japanese adventures to sit down regularly to write. Once I got behind, I started putting off posting new entries until I’d filled in the old entries, because I wanted to keep everything in time order. But I have recently figured out how to post-date entries (technological genius that I am), in order to insert them in the correct place on the timeline, regardless of when I write them. So, I’m going to jump in with current entries, and will fill in the gaps from the past year as I get around to them (I have lots of notes and promise not to leave this project unfinished). For anyone who hasn’t completely given up on me, and cares enough to go back to old entries, make a note of October 24, 2009. Everything up to that point is complete, so new entries will periodically appear between that date and the present. Sorry to make life difficult, and thanks to anyone who is still reading!
Monday, September 6--If you can't stand the heat...
As the hottest summer on record continues, our English-language newspaper, The Daily Yomiuri, reports that it’s not just humans who are suffering. Veterinarians have treated twice the usual number of canine heatstroke victims. Farm animals are keeling over at an alarming rate—so far nearly 1,200 cows have succumbed to heat-related illnesses, as have 657 pigs, 289,000 broiler chickens, and 136,000 egg-laying hens. The agricultural ministry has instructed local officials to ensure that farmers are taking appropriate action, such as putting heat shields on the walls and roofs of barns and installing fans. Hmmm. That sounds like the assembly instructions for a convection oven to me. Roast beef anyone?
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