boy, is it another hot day. i hope this means i will have more tomatoes in the end.

i have, in lieu of the season, started a new habit, one that i probably should have been doing already, but lacked the motivation: sunscreen, everyday, no matter what. ive only sunbathed a handful of times in my life and i quickly realized that there was a lot of pain involved when my pale skin only turned red, peeled and went back to being white. the bad sunburns, well, those were the result of carelessness or laziness, and thinking i could beat the sun. but yesterday, when scanning the sunscreen shelves, i realized things have come a long way since i was 10 and frying myself at the beach (despite my moms best efforts). in florida, the sunscreen and skincare areas are pretty big, and this store was no exception. several non-greasy formulas, up to 55 SPF, covering uva and uvb rays... protection from both are important, for one causes cancer and the other fine lines and wrinkles.

it must be that cancer is on my mind; every time i rub that sunscreen on my face i always, always go over my ears twice and every time i think about my grandfather, who lost an ear to skin cancer and then his life, because it had metastasized to his brain. of course, he was a farmer and im (currently) a putterer (ask my bro in law nat about that one). despite that, im still high-risk for skin cancer.

• Fair complexions that burn or blister easily. (yep.)
  
• Blonde or red hair. (not really.)
  
• Blue, green or gray eyes. (yes. green to some, blue to others)
  
• Excessive sun exposure during childhood and teen years or blistering sunburns before age 20. (uh huh.)
  
• A family history of melanoma. (well, yes.)
  
• More than 100 moles on your body; 50 if you are under age 20. (no, thank goodness.)
  

so.
5 years after my grandfather died, my grandmother died of liver cancer.

it seems there are some places you just cant protect.