Our friend was a doctor who completed his residency at Mayo in Rochester. He did all he could for me. He winced, gave a lo then said, “that has to burn.”

When we were back home that evening, still feeling the burn, I sat upright in the recliner for the night and began googling to learn everything I could about the green enemy that had assaulted me. Turns out wasabi is often an ingredient in marine paints; it helps keep barnacles and mussels from growing on boat hulls.

Everything has a purpose. It’s such a relief to have a barnacle-free esophagus – surely that good news was the reason for my watery eyes earlier.

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