Thursday, October 18, 2012

better red than dead


My compadre blogger, Felipe, over at Unseen Moon has posted on the baffling resurrection of nostalgia for communism and its related cousins.

There is no doubt where I stand.  I have spent my adult life opposing an ideology that is morally indiscernible from Italian and German fascism.

But some red keeps creeping into my life.

For those of you who have met me (or even looked at my profile photograph), I am not overly blessed with melanin.  Some of my ancestors came from the Outer Hebrides.  There is a good chance Scandinavian raider genes run in my blood. 

Whatever the reason, no one has ever called me olive-skinned.  I am one of those people who broil rather than tan.

Yesterday I recalled staying at my cousin Danny's house in Myrtle Point when I was nine or so.  We had spent a full day at the Bandon beach -- in a time when sun screen was what you put on the front porch.

Trotsky was less red than my back the next morning.  But I helped Danny with his paper route by wearing those old paper carriers that looked like a fat-man poncho stuffed with newspapers in front and in back.  


It hurt.  But there was work to be done. 

Looking at today's photograph should be reason enough to explain why that little anecdote popped into my head.

You would think I would have learned -- after sixty-some years -- that going out in the sun means protective gear.  At least, a hat.

In fact, Ray asked me that very thing when we started our ATV tour.  He just shook his head that I was heading out without a hat or sun protection.

I thought my four years down here would lay down a protective layer against the sun.  I forgot one important fact. 

For the past eight months I have been traveling to places where long pants are in order.  My pudgy thighs have been living in the equivalent of a rabbit warren.

Not surprisingly, you can see the result.  My face is a bit red.  But it is my thighs that took the brunt of the sun.  And just the thighs.  That is what comes of sunbathing while sitting down.

And, yes, I am aware of the dangers of sun exposure.  But it ranks up there with eating what I want to eat.  And fearing being eaten by piranha in the bath tub I do not have.

Oddly, I am not paying the pain dividend for my hubris.  Usually a burn like this would present logistical sleeping problems.  But it does not even feel warm to the touch.  What is the world coming to when I cannot count on Skinnerian aversion therapy.

I am smart enough that I generally stayed out of the sun yesterday.

Today I am having lunch with a reader who participated in the house poll.  It will be fun to listen to another property owner's decision-making process.

We may even get around to talking about reds of one type or another.


36 comments:

Felipe Zapata said...

You would think that you would have learned by now.

norm said...

Those legs look like my legs do after the first canoe trip of the season-every year...

Andean said...

You would never think you lived on the coast, but than again I have done the same thing in many tropical places, forgetting the sun's strength, and sleep was not to be had for days. At least you weren't wearing a speedo and no shirt.

jennifer rose said...

No one would accuse you of being a rabano, but a watermelon does come to mind.

DonCuevas said...

As a child, during family visits to Miami Beach, I'd play heedlessly in the sun. One resultant sunburn was so bad that I had to wear a t-shirt while in the swimming pool and believe me, it hurt when I laughed.

I remember those days with great fondness.

Saludos, Don Cuevas

tancho said...

I think that we all think that something has changed a little when we offer our pasty white skin to the sun gods....I remember great days at the river as a kid, only to come home in agony. As I sat out in the full sun yesterday I remembered just that... So I saved up some energy and moved the chair about a meter, taking care of the issue at hand.

I guess if you did it a little at a time for a year or so, you could display a outer shell that would be a few shades darker than the original.
These golden tans are funny when you see how much trouble people go through, especially in places like Florida. I feel sorry for some of the elderly women, all shriveled up, skin and bones, but laying in the sun for that healthy look....

1st Mate said...

Have you started to peel yet? That'll be fun...

NW said...

Bummer.

Steve Cotton said...

Caution is not my style.  I have a giant "freckle" on the bridge of my nose that may be a symbol of my lack of caution.

Steve Cotton said...

Funny you mention a speedo.  I knew the northern migration had begun when I saw an elderly fellow, walking down the center of a downtown street, wearing nothing but a speedo.  It was not a pretty sight.

Steve Cotton said...

 Watermelon?  I thought those were members of the Partido Verde.

Steve Cotton said...

That's the spirit.  Every experience, no matter how painful, is nostalgia fodder.

Steve Cotton said...

I remember meeting a woman in her 70s on a cruise from South Africa. She was tanned.  Like leather.  I had never met anyone who had skin that looked like a pair of old shoes.  

Steve Cotton said...

And it will look a bit odd.  The burn is quite localized.

Steve Cotton said...

 Nope.  Just my thighs.

Steve Cotton said...

 I just need to expose them to the sun more often.

Dan in NC said...

Kind of appropriate ! With the green shorts, white skin, and red you are a living Mexican flag! Glad there is no pain to go with what you gained! Cheers!
Dan in NC

Connie said...

Ouch!
 

NW said...

Canadians..

Cdubee said...

That left leg looks really burned! Take care!

Steve Cotton said...

That was just the angle of the light.  They are equally red.  But without any real pain.

Steve Cotton said...

Now, how did I miss that?  My writer's eye was blind to the best hook for that post.

Steve Cotton said...

You will see no national aspersions from this pen.  Well, not many.

Steve Cotton said...

It looks nasty.  But there really is no pain.  Maybe I have killed the nerve endings over the years.

Kim G said...

The sun here in DF  has been so intense recently that I feel like I'm burning the minute I head out doors. I guess I'll have to blame the lack of clouds and smog to boot.

Maybe you aren't in pain because you burned away your nerve cells. But take heart. Skin cancer is a long-term process, and I'm assuming you've spent most of your life in long pants, so you're probably ok.

Hope you recover quickly.

Saludos,

Kim G
DF, México
Where sunscreen and a hat are always close to hand.

Kim G said...

 Dan!  Too funny!  ROFLMAO!!!!

Kim G

Kim G said...

 Yeah, seriously. In the 19th century, they had it right. Keep your skin away from the sun or you'll end up looking like a hag. We Caucasian people just need to embrace the whiteness and enjoy it for what it is. Tanning is about the worst possible thing you can do to your skin. In my view, it doesn't look healthy, it looks "lizardy."

Kim G
DF, México
Where we worry that moving here would ruin our skin. A daily UV index over 10 doesn't exactly fight wrinkles.

Steve Cotton said...

The woman in my anecdote had skin the texture of a Gila monster -- complete with scattered black beads.

Steve Cotton said...

There are probably enough kill switches embedded in my DNA that I need not worry about a few old age burns.

Marilyn Jones said...

No pain, no gain of experiening the fun day!  Pudgy legs come in handing when you are waiting in long lines, that what I always say about mine.  :)

Steve Cotton said...

Fortunately, no long lines here.  Just old-fashioned pushing.

Bonfire said...

I remember one time when I was talked into going to a clothing optional beach by an old girlfriend.  Let me tell you, there is nothing more painful than a roasted ball sack!

Shannon Casey said...

If living in Jalisco for the last 4 years has not taught you that those of us who are melanin challenged must take precautions, you are likely a good candidate for skin cancer. Sorry... that was the cosmetician in me rearing it's ugly head.

Steve Cotton said...

My chances of dying on an ATV or being eaten by a crocodile are probably far higher on the "GAME OVER" list than skin cancer.  But we all ave to die of something.  I have no intention of being the last Boomer standing -- or drooling.

Gary Denness said...

Things were always better in the 'good ole days' Steve, didn't ya know? . Doesn't matter if you're talking communism or anything else. There's significant, albeit pointless, movements in some African and Caribbean country's to bring back the British Empire. That's an empire that employed capitalist policies that possibly directly killed more people than either Hitler or Stalin managed.....a little bit of history that seems to have been rather swept under the carpet. Except in France...

I've felt the burn before now. I sympathise. And suspect you'll get a dose of pain before too long, unless you really have killed off all feeling in your legs.

Steve Cotton said...

It has merely turned to a nice tan.  No pain.  Lots of gain. 

I suspect it is because I have had breakfast several times this week beneath the portrait of HRM.  She has undoubtedly used her powers of monarchy through her holy icon to heal my wounds.  I may have this republicanism thing all backwards.