Here Comes The Sun

My dad was an Air Force pilot and so we lived in and traveled to some pretty fun and interesting places. From 1968-70 we lived on the tropical island of Guam. I was in Jr. High School during those years. It was a very fun existence, a really fun time. 

I spent a lot of time in the sun during those two years on Guam. We practically lived at the Officer's Pool, swimming, tanning, ordering a Shirley Temple and fries at the snack bar. Oh, it was a good life. 

While we were there a military girl, Hilary Best, won the title of Miss Guam and went on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. I would see her at the pool and was very envious of her tan. She. Was. Tan.

So what does an impressionable 13 year old do? Copy. No matter that I was a freckle-face. No matter that I didn't have the kind of skin that would glow golden bronze. 

The going thing back then? Olive oil. Yes. The stuff you brown your meat in. It made sense. Brown meat. I'm meat. I can brown. Brown me!

WHAT WERE WE THINKING??

To her credit, my Mom did say once that she didn't think it was a good idea to use olive oil as sun tan oil.  But this was, after all, long before skin cancer was invented or SPF or any of that kind of thing...

AND! The Beatles had just given us our Anthem.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, 

and I say it's all right 

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter 

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 

and I say it's all right 

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces 

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 

and I say it's all right 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting 

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, 

and I say it's all right 

It's all right 

We were blissfully unaware.

After Guam I spent time tanning in the sun of California. Years later in the sun of Panama. Long Island. High altitude Utah.

And in that time skin cancer was invented. And SPF lotions. And now I'm just sort of waiting, and watching my abused skin manifest skin damage. Or worse.

Del Rey beat me to the big one, though. Some months ago he showed me a funny red patch on the side of his face that wasn't going away. We watched it for another month or so, and I finally said he needed to get it checked. Yesterday he had his appointment with the dermatologist and yes, he had himself a bit of pre-skin-cancer going on. The doc burned it off with liquid nitrogen. Yesterday he had a pretty big blister on the side of his face. When I saw it last night it made my knees weak and my throat kind of constrict. 

So this is actually a Public Service Announcement:

Do use sun screen.

Don't use olive oil.

Get your 15 minutes a day of sun for Vitamin D, but don't go overboard.

Watch your skin for "a sore that does not heal" (remember learning that in grade school? Hey, maybe skin cancer WAS invented back then...)

Have the skin doc look at funny things on your body.

Tans are over-rated. Hilary Best probably looks 20 years older nowadays than she really is.

Thank you for your time.