When I was very young, my Dad used to “lay out” in our backyard on one of those squeaky striped nylon fold up chaise lounges holding a trifold reflector from Bradlees. He’d recline on that chair with the shiny silver enhancer right to his chin and bask in the glow of the sun for as long as possible– usually until the great ball of fire slipped behind the trees in our backyard.
If this reminds you of The Human Sun Dial from the movie The Flamingo Kid, you’ve got a good idea of what I’m talking about. If you don’t remember that movie classic or the character reference, the El Flamingo Beach Club used to set up a series of reflectors stuck into the sand and put a lounge chair directly in the middle. One of their wealthy guests named Sam Sadakus would plant himself in that middle seat and adjust his chair every hour in a circle as the sun moved to ensure that he got the maximum exposure to the gentle rays. If my Dad had interviewed for that movie, he would have been a shoe in for the role of Sam!
I too became obsessed with getting a tan in the good ol’ 80s. I learned from my Father that the browner you could become, the better off you would be. Back then, tans were a thing. There was even a t-shirt with the saying, “He who dies with the best tan wins!” I believed it. (Just look at George Hamilton.) The billboard ads for the Coppertone Baby depicted an innocent shirtless youngster in pigtails with her bottoms being pulled away by a cute puppy… only to reveal gorgeous tan!
This was the decade that Ban de Soleil Orange Gelée was sold in SPF 4 and their advertising promised The St. Tropez Tan– a deep, golden, goddess-like glow. (Yep, I was a fan.) Their slogan “In St. Tropez, women have no fear of exposure,” showed an exotic looking beauty with her hair slicked back. “Bain de Soleil or ban the sun,” was another popular tagline. The BDS vixen was a person to be envied. To be honest, in those days, Johnson and Johnson’s Baby Oil was used way more frequently than any sort of sun protection… but some lotions smelled so coconutty and dreamy that people used them for the scents instead of the coverage. (Right here, dude!!)
Wake and Bake (no not THAT kind!) was also a thing in those scary looking tanning beds. Another trend that captivated my Father’s attention.
In my late 20s, going to the beach meant a lengthy stay– usually for a six hour minimum and we never had an umbrella for coverage. We just jumped in the water to cool off. Nobody knew the harmful effects of the sun back then.
These days I limit myself to an hour under the warming rays of that fireball. And I still love the look of a sun-kissed glow. So this is my official resignation in the race to become tannest. Dad, you’re the all time winner. And your prize is a bottle of sunscreen! Be careful out there. xoxo
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