Idiots Beware!

The image of a british man in a McDonald´s a year ago is forever engraved in my mind. Why, you ask? Well, this man was neon pink. And I don´t mean that figuratively. He was NEON PINK. Courtesy of the Rio de Janeiro sun.

Under his cap, his face looked nearly paralyzed. Under his t-shirt, his body seemed to be permanently grafted to a clothes-hanger - you know, like when you move in such a manner to allow as little contact as possible between your skin and your clothes. This guy was fresh out of the beach and he was already in pain. I can only imagine what his next three days were like... Or maybe not. I am presently getting a glimpse.

Someday I WILL learn. Someday I will behave differently from the british fool. But not yesterday. I went to the beach yesterday and, thanks to a nice, cool, steady wind to bring down the temperature, underestimated the intensity of the ultraviolet rays. The result? It hurts to smile. It hurts to put on or take off a shirt. It hurts to shift around in bed. It hurts to be so eternally stupid.

This is NOT the first time that I've done this. It´s happened a couple of times before. But since the last time, about two years ago, I had decided that I would never let it happen again. Sunscreen would be a must, regardless of the heat. And up until yesterday, I had been very faithful to my resolve.

Yesterday, however, was the first sunny day after nearly three weeks of incessant rain. It was the first chance to erase the bright-white from my face. And boy, did I make the best of it or what!?

So here I sit, incandescent, in obvious discomfort and above all, feeling foolish.