I just read in the fall issue of InStyle magazine that there is a product — "Ear Lift" — that enables women with stretched and torn ear lobes to wear heavy earrings. I have to admit, I was intrigued. I still have memories of a friend of my grandmother's who was in her 80s when I was a small child. Her earlobes were about the size of quarters from nearly a century of wearing heavy clip-ons. My sister and I were fascinated — and a little freaked out.

Every time I consider making or wearing big chandeliers or heavy dangles I think of her and it gives me pause. The product tester at InStyle deemed the discs "brilliant," so I checked out the Web site (earlift.com).

The Web site goes beyond the InStyle article. Ear Lift is not just for heavy earrings. The site suggests that for women who simply want to look their best, these doo-dads are essential. I'll admit that for someone with stretched or torn ear piercings, these do seem like a reasonable idea. But do we really need to worry about having "firm" ear lobes? As age eventually makes other parts head south, do I need to add perky ear lobes to the things I obsess over?

I still may cave and get these things to wear with the earrings I made from the Euros I collected on my trip to Italy last year, but I resolve to otherwise let my ears age gracefully.  It might be fun to freak out my great-grand nieces some day.