Return to Jones Beach

Now before going out in the sun I slather up with #30 sun tan lotion. According to the squeeze bottle all possible rays deemed dangerous-- are eliminated, expunged. Of course some of the chemicals may cause other dire problems.

When I went to Jones Beach with my cousin Bobby and two of her friends, I intended to come home with a tan. My cousin being  older and  sophisticated wore a skimpy bathing suit and oiled her body. I thought she looked slippery, but refrained from saying anything because of my age, thirteen, and lower status within the group.

Hour after hour beneath a punishing sun they turned themselves from stomach to back. Human rotisseries.

I spread a blanket out on the sand and read. The book I selected for the day: The Magic Mountain . I wanted to impress Bobby and her friends with my intellectual fervor. 

After five hours on the beach we packed  all the accouterments of our outing into purple beach bags.

My shoulders, back and ears began to throb on the way home. Within a day huge blisters vied for space on my back and shoulders. My ears bled. Sleeping required positions mastered by a contortionist. My back couldn't abide any cloth. I felt as if  fiery eruptions had taken hold of  my shoulders.

The tan I anticipated never arrived.