Steve Bryant – Thoughts on Success, Music and Media

(Avoid exposure to the sun, always use a powerful sunblock and consult a doctor if you ever get a serious sunburn.)

Growing up on a farm in the 1950’s and 60’s, I had more a lot more sunburns than the average kid. Back then, we knew nothing about the dangers of UV rays. In fact, in those days, if you didn’t have a tan in the summer, people thought you were unhealthy. Men and women would hit the beach, slather themselves with baby oil and bake. A radio station at the Jersey Shore used to broadcast a “tanning tone.” Every few minutes, an announcer would come on between the Top 40 songs and say, “Time to turn, so you don’t burn.”

Working on the farm, I didn’t need to lie on the beach to get overexposed to Old Sol. As a fair-skinned blonde, I would get a burn, peel and repeat the process a few weeks later. There was an old wives tale about getting a base coat tan so you wouldn’t burn. I was living proof that didn’t work.

My worst sunburn didn’t come from the farm. I have often written about my Uncle Ed and the summers we spent traveling the country and abroad. Ed loved Florida and even if we traveled cross country from New Jersey to California, we’d wind up in Florida on the way home for a week or so.

In 1962, we wound up in Key West, staying at a motel right on the water. I spent the whole first day in the sun, neither of us realizing that the sun’s rays were much more powerful in Florida than New Jersey. When I went back into the motel room, I was as red as Sherman Williams Crimson Red enamel, maybe redder. The pain was awful, I also felt very sick. It was really bad.

Luckily, Ed talked to everybody. One of the people he chatted up was a Naval Lieutenant, stationed on submarine berthed in Key West. There were major sub pens there at that time. The Lieutenant saw how sunburned I was and told Ed to go to the drugstore and get a bottle of Milk of Magnesia, the regular, not the mint.

He explained that it was a technique they used on submarines. After being submerged for weeks at a time, the crew would be as white as ghosts. Since there was no real sunblock in those days, the men would get vicious sunburns after working ourside the boat. Someone discovered that the Milk of Magnesia might effectively counteract the effects of a sunburn.

He explained that I should cover all the sunburned areas with the liquid. I was to let it dry and then go to bed. Ed got the stuff and I followed the instructions. I woke up the next morning and the burn was all-but-gone. I was a little brown and there was no peeling. I felt great and was able to enjoy the next days in the motel pool, which was in the shade half the day. The Lieutenant warned that I should avoid additional excessive exposure since the Milk of Magnesia wouldn’t be too much help for a secondary burn.

We even got a tour of the Lieutenant’s sub. I don’t think the military would allow this today, but it was 1962. Things were much looser then. Submarines are amazing, especially to an 11-year-old kid!

Fast forward to the late 1960’s. My cousin Tom was visiting the farm. He worked for Delta Airlines in California. He worked at what was then called Orange County Airport, now named John Wayne Airport. Orange County was so rural then, he took tickets, handled luggage and even waved the planes up to the gate. He was a one man crew.

My mother took him to the Ocean City Beach, about 90 minutes from the farm. Tom was a true redhead. I was fair skinned, but Tom was whiter than white. He spent the whole day at the beach. When he returned, he was redder than red. Luckily, I didn’t go with them that day. When I saw Tom, I immediately went to the local store and purchased the Milk of Magnesia. I helped to cover him. He was already very sick from the sun exposure.

Like me in Key West, Tom was almost perfect the next day. He was so grateful he put me on his family plan. That meant that I could fly standby with a friend anywhere Delta flew. I went everywhere. It’s how I was able to fly Ed and myself to San Francisco to attend the Altamont Rock Festival. The plan lasted for quite a few years but was eventually ended in the late 1970’s. I guess Delta realized it was costing them a fortune.

In the early 1980’s, I did get the same deal from Eastern Airlines because of helping them calm passengers during severe turbulence. But that’s a story for another time.

Bottom line to all of this – WEAR SUNBLOCK!!! I’ve had dozens of skin cancers from the exposure I had in the 1950’s and 60’s. More involved surgeries than anyone should have to endure. Basal cells, squamous cells, melanomas, I’ve had them all.

Stay safe and always use a powerful sunblock! God bless!

© 2023 Steve Bryant – No portion of this or any blog can be reproduced or copied and posted on any online site or read aloud on any audio or video media without the express permission of the author.