By John Mesh
The sun is not my friend.
I have a chewing gum-looking thing on the left side of my forehead above my eye to remind me of that.
It is a several-times-daily reminder of undergoing a procedure on Oct. 29, 2024, in Wichita to remove a malignant basal cell sarcoma (three hours total) and plastic surgery (one hour).
Skin cancer is serious stuff. The worst kind is melanoma. It can kill.
I have another souvenir. It’s a two-inch scar under my right arm. Skin was removed to graft over the hole in my forehead from the cancer-removal procedure. That’s the chewing gum thing on my forehead.
I am not supposed to spend a lot of time out in the sun, but I screwed that up a couple weekends ago. I went to see my niece Kristyn Chapman’s band Morpho at the Somewhere Fest in Wichita.
I spent about four hours in the sun. I very stupidly forgot to wear a hat and got sunburnt.
I hope this doesn’t come back to burn me.
So take my advice. Don’t do what I did. Wear sunscreen (the higher the SPF the better) and a big floppy hat. Drink plenty of water.
This is probably one of the wettest Junes the city of Hutchinson and the state of Kansas has had in a long time, and the rain is very welcome.
This part of the country has been in drought and fire conditions for years.
However, the sun will beat down on us in July and August.
People might love the sun, but for some people the sun isn’t their friend either.