I'm on the other end of the scale now and have learned some hard lessons. For years in my youth I lived on Malibu Beach, then for more years taught scuba diving in the L.A. area and at the SoCal islands. Did a lot of surfing, a LOT of fishing, mountain climbing and water skiing and spent a good portion of my life in the sun - most in the SoCal area.
Starting about 30 years ago, I began getting lesions - "a sore that doesn't heal" - on my face and head. Just one at first, then a year or two later another.....by the time I was 60, the back of my head had many. Dermatologist burns them off with liquid nitrogen - they are "actinic keratoses" - pre-cancerous lesions. Now I'm closing in on 68 yrs old and back of my head is covered with them and they're spreading to my face. Sooner or later, one will become a melanoma. I am fair skinned and "should've" taken precautions. Tell that to a 25 yr old party animal on the beach. Also, in those days it wasn't widely realized just what a danger it is. All my friends did the same as I.
I'm also a licensed pilot and have recently given up flying because my vision is going and I'm not comfortable being pilot in command any more. Optometrist says it's from years of squinting in the sun.
The moral of my little tale ??......Wear sunglasses, wear a hat, wear sunblocker shirts. Take 'em off to go in the water, put 'em back on when you come back out. I've found that paste type sunblockers work very well, too, when I'm on the quad or on the boat.
Lar.
