It turns out, if all reports are true, the main enemy against all things age-related boils down to one little thing...or I should say, one humongous yellow orb. The Sun.
Oddly enough, a recent report also states that Oregon has a high percentage of melanoma, skin cancer.
Huh? Oregon is cloudy more often than sunny, so how can that be?
Many reasons were cited, one being lackadaisical use of sunscreen here; lots of pale skin going to sunnier climes, coupled with first reason.
But I was surprised one of the main contributors wasn't noted. Even though it's cloudier here, the harmful rays of the sun still penetrate clouds; hence, our skin. Therefore, it's an easy leap to assume Northwesterners don't take the use of sunscreen seriously enough.
I look back on my youthful days of sunbathing--slathered not with a screen but in baby oil to attract more sun--and just cringe. Where were all the experts and warnings back then? Probably there all along but in the din of rock 'n' roll I couldn't hear them nor would I have heeded their message.
As one (ahem!) matures, it becomes infinitely clearer why the saying goes, "Youth is wasted on the young."
sigh.
