Thursday, July 31, 2008

JOURNAL EXCERPT: May 17, Wed., 1978 10:00 PM

"Went swimming today with G. over at his sister, A.'s, apartment. I enjoyed being around the girls at the pool. My nose is sunburned."

MANHOOD REDO: At the time this was written, I think I used to jokingly refer to myself as the bronze Irish god. The sun in West Texas is pretty harsh, and I spent a lot of time in it, got sunburned more than once with blisters on my back. I didn't know about aloe at the time, but how I wish I had. It is a plant whose juice is the miracle cure for burns. Rub it on multiple times over a few hours and the pain and redness disappear. Instead, I spent hours on my stomach trying to sleep and hours during the day trying to keep my shirt from touching my back.

Everyone in their teens and twenties in Lubbock would spend time outside tanning. Every spring, probably sometime in April, the coeds attending Texas Tech University and living in the dorms would line their lawn chairs up outside the dorm building, put on their swimsuits, and spend time the they weren't in classes under the sun trying to turn brown. If you were pale everyone thought you looked sickly. My sister and I would sometimes spend time together tanning in our back yard. I don't remember there being sunblock lotions with SPF numbers, just oils and lotions like Coppertone that were supposed to help you turn brown not red. Since Sunscreen Protection Factor (SPF) was first introduced in 1962 and the height of my tanning period was in the mid- to late 1970s, I suppose it's possible sunblocks were available and I just ignored them. I'm certain that things like tanning beds and booths had yet to be introduced.

I remember looking at my parents pale legs and being fairly grossed out. Of course, now I am my parents. I worry about the sun, especially since my father has had skin cancer appear repeatedly and had to have it removed especially from his ears and nose. Aging can have a way tempering our sense of control and power as men. At 52 I'm feeling a little more vulnerable than I did in my 20s.


1 comment:

Leona Knight said...

I was diagnosed of Herpes 2 years ago and I have tried all possible means to get the cure but all to no avail, until I saw a post in a health forum about a Herbal Doctor(Dr Akhigbe) who prepares herbal medicine to cure all kind of diseases including Herpes, at first i doubted, if it was real but decided to give him a trial, when I contacted Dr Akhigbe through his Email: drrealakhigbe@gmail.com he guided me and prepared a herbal medicine and sent it to me via courier Delivery service,when I received the package (herbal medicine) He gave me instructions on how to consume it,I started using it as instructed and I stopped getting outbreaks and the sores started vanishing, could you believe I was cured of this deadly virus within two to three weeks and notices changes in my body. Days of using this REMEDY,couldn't believe the healing at first until I see it as my HERPES  get cleared like magic Dr Akhigbe also use his herbal medicine to cure diseases like, HIV, HERPES, CANCER, ALS, CHRONIC DISEASE, HEART DISEASE, LUPUS, ASTHMA,  DIABETES, MAR-BURG VIRUS,  HEPATITIS A AND B.ECZEMA, BACK PAIN, EXTERNAL INFECTION ,ASTHMA, MALARIA, DENGUE FEVER, BACTERIA DIARRHEA, RABIES, OBESITY, PROGENITOR,  MENINGITIS, ARTHRITIS, EPILEPSY,STROKE, LYMPH EDEMA, GALLSTONE, PULMONARY HYPERTENSION, PENIS  EJACULATION, ,   HPV, DICK ENLARGEMENT, IMPOTENCE, DENGUE, CORNELIA DISEASE, OSTEOPOROSIS, RHEUMATISM, THYROID, COLD & FLU,KIDNEY DISEASE,ACME. PROTOPLASMIC  ERYSIPELAS. etc Contact this great herbal Doctor today the father of herbal root cure. via Email: drrealakhigbe@gmail.com or whatsapp him  +2349010754824   and get cured permanently He is real..website:      https:drrealakhigbe.weebly.com