Scribblings

The Price of Fun In the Sun

i have always loved the beach -- playing in the sand, swimming or frolicking in the water, sunning myself and most of all, the sound of the surf in my ears and salty tangy smell in my nose and taste on my lips.

We could easily walk to the town's bay beaches in the summer time and I think we were there just about every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Sometimes we'd get a real treat and Mom would take my brother and me over to the ferry. This was before the Robert Moses Bridge (on Long Island) was built. We'd go from Captree Beach over to Fire Island where the mighty ocean was. My dad taught my brother and me to swim in the bay and although the ocean was scary, we soon learned how to swim there too.

This love of the beach ... it must be genetic.

These are my grandparents at Sea Gate Beach. The picture was taken in 1915 and I'm guessing they were honeymooning. My grandfather, a stern immigrant from Norway, was never one to just sit around, so this had to be some kind of special occasion.

For every summer of my life right up until I got married the first time, I was always at the beach during the summer. I used to do laps in the bay or in the ocean for exercise. Yes, that silly kid in the picture is really me at around the age of 26 or 27. I loved riding the waves on a raft and when one wasn't available, I'd just body surf.

When we weren't swimming or playing in the water, we'd bask in the sunshine. My brother was too macho for sun screen and while I wasn't one of those Ban d'Soleil folks, I wasn't using SPF 15 either. I think the highest I'd go those years was about an 8.

Gosh, I miss the beach. I've been back to several beaches over the years but not to the extent I did when I was a kid. Now it's all different too--I'm putting on SPF 50 and wearing hats and long sleeves and all that other "old lady" garbage I always used to roll my eyes at. And it's all because of my friend, the Beach and his best friend the Sun.

I began noticing the age spots in my 40s. Having a nice gorgeous tan when you are in your 20s is great but these big splotches aren't so much fun...especially when they begin to change. I guess I've had about a dozen precancerous skin cells removed in the last few years. Most recently, I had 4 removed and two are being biopsied. It's the price of all those years of careless fun in the sun but you know what? I wouldn't trade any of them back. There are just too many good memories.

Posted by Cassie at February 28, 2007 10:32 AM | TrackBack