Once upon a time in my foolish youth I thought it was cool to get a suntan. There were many summers during my teens where I would “sunbathe” with almost nothing protecting my skin. Several times I got a crispy result.
The turning point for me was a visit to Hong Kong with the Navy back in 1991. Many of the crew and I visited a water theme park in the hills above the city. It was blazing hot so I removed my shirt, I had no sunscreen, and I was on a mountain in the tropics for several hours. I had huge blisters on my back for the rest of the week and came very close to requesting a light duty chit to recover from that foolhardy damage. Never again would I take that for granted, I vowed.
I know people my age who never got the word about how quickly the sun damages your skin. Many of them continue to tan and, unfortunately, many show signs of skin damage. While some tan to look younger, the opposite is what happens.
I find it sad, but then again it’s none of my business so I keep it to myself. If that’s what makes them happy who am I to judge? As for me, I’ll keep slathering on the sunscreen, whether it makes me look like a dork or not.
Ok … whether it makes me look more like a dork or not.