Introduction

The "Hotel Melanoma" moniker is a metaphor for living with my particular brand of cancer. Except for those lucky few of us deemed "cured", all we cancer survivors are guests of one of the many, many branded hotels in the "Hotel Carcinoma" chain. We can check out any time we like, but we can never leave. Meanwhile, let's be livin' it up; and please support cancer education, prevention, and treatment research.



Tutu Brothers

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Tanning Her Hide

Yesterday morning, I was standing outside my neighborhood manly haircut joint and enjoying an early spring day while waiting to get my monthly buzz. The place happens to be next door to a tanning salon that is so aptly named “Tan Your Hide”. Really. I watched an attractive and quite tanned young woman cruise up in her oversized SUV (the official soccer mom car in Colorado) and then head into the salon. For a moment I thought about following her in and preaching a sermon on the risks of what she was about to do, apparently not for the first time. And asking her how many kids she’d leave behind if melanoma whacks her. But I didn’t because I’m way too shy and retiring to ever do such a thing.

So instead, here’s my version of a song she’ll never, ever hear, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” from The Police…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ


Though I've tried before to tell her
Of the feelings I have for tans in my heart
Every time that I come near her
I just lose my nerve
As I've done from the start

Every little tan she does is tragic
Every fry she do just turns C on
Even though her life in store is magic
How I know mel’s hunt for her goes on

Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand pain-filled days since C I met
I could sing it a cappella
How it's always C that ends up winning bets

Every little tan she does is tragic
Every fry she do just turns C on
Even though her life in store is magic
How I know mel’s hunt for her goes on

I resolve to blog it up a thousand times and pray
And tell her that she'll marry C on some upcoming day
But the silence fell around C
Long before I preach my pitch
Long before my tongue has tripped me
Must C always hit it rich?

Every little tan she does is tragic
Every fry she do just turns C on
Even though her life in store is magic
How I know mel’s hunt for her goes on

3 comments:

  1. Good one. I just did this to someone at a tanning salon. I had business with her - and it is the salon I used to go tan at. I asked her if she tanned and she answered only one month out of the year (same as I used to do) - well it opened the door for me - I think I scared the hell out of her. (at least I'm hoping I did)

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  2. I had a very interesting and inspiring conversation with my stylist on Saturday while getting my hair done about this very thing and my hope is that what I shared will change my very young and talented stylist mind about damaging her skin and risking her health down the road.

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