For Eric And Jill

Tanning beds are killing young people and today they chalked up yet another victim. Eric Sizemore lost his melanoma battle early this morning. I didn’t know Eric, I only knew of him as an awareness campaigner who, along with his wife Jill, waged a video war against tanning beds:

“Eric’s Journey With Melanoma” http://www.youtube.com/user/EricNJill?feature=mhee

I pray that a part of Eric’s legacy will be a vastly increased degree of public awareness of the dangers of tanning beds because thousands of young folks who’ll never read this blog will see his story on YouTube and perhaps avoid a stay at The Hotel Melanoma. I’m tempted to drive down the hill and firebomb my local tanning salon, but instead I’ll dedicate a song to Eric and Jill: a new version of Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E


Until black cancer’s broke
A blood feud for this cancer’s croak
Spreading truth ‘bout tanning evils
End this UV ray disease

The time has come
To take the dare
To pay our rent
To do our share

The time has come
A fact's a fact
It’s now up to us
Let's kill the black

How can we rest when our hearts are yearning
How do we sleep while those beds are burning
How can we rest when our hearts are yearning
How do we sleep while those beds are burning

The time has come
To take the dare
To pay our rent, now
To do our share

Salons have the tanning booths
Lure teenage kids to certain doom
The nagging truth will live and breathe
It’s UV ray disease

The time has come
To take the dare
To pay our rent
To do our share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It’s now up to us
Let's kill the black

How can we rest when our hearts are yearning
How do we sleep while those beds are burning
How can we rest when our hearts are yearning
How do we sleep while those beds are burning

The time has come
To take the dare
To pay our rent, now
To do our share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It’s now up to us
We're gonna kill the black

How can we dance when our hearts are yearning
How do we sleep while those beds are burning