Health / Retirement

my bucket hat

whbeebe5 Comments
Old man wearing a bucket hat

The combination of old age and Florida’s bright sunny environment creates many opportunities for unprotected folk to develop skin cancers, yours truly included. Big wide brimmed hats are now haute couture for me.

I’ve been visiting a dermatologist regularly for a little over a decade now. Visits have grown more frequent, as have the nitrogen freezing of pre-cancerous spots on my skin, and the surgical removal of two more advanced spots for biopsies. I’m in healthy shape, all things considered.

Because I garden and do other outdoor work, I’m now in the habit off reflexively donning a hat every time I go out. Even if I’m going off to shop I’ll put on a hat and make sure to wear it when I’m outside my car. As I’ve gotten older the brim on my hats have grown wider until I’m now wearing this particular hat with a 6″ brim that spreads out over my shoulders. The hat itself has a mesh opening on the side that allows the sweat to evaporate. I know there are creases in the brim where it was folded when it was shipped, but I don’t care; I bought this for my health, not to make a fashion statement. It cost me $25 from Amazon, and as far as I’m concerned it was worth every penny. I have other wide-brimmed hats, but none as wide as this one, so as a consequence it winds up being the one I wear the most outdoors.

If it isn’t obvious, I wear hats to help avoid skin cancer. Skin cancer isn’t a joke. Go see your dermatologist, do what he or she tells you to do, and when you go out at least make sure you’re reasonably covered with a wide hat and a long sleeved rash shirt, such as what you’d wear swimming. If you’re going out on the water down here in Florida always go covered.

Zonker Harris

I’m now reaping the rewards of a reckless young lifestyle with regards to sun worshipping, when many boomers such as myself went out to “worship” the sun and work on our tans. We were warned even back then what would happen. What fools we were.

Links

Leotruny Super Wide Brim Bucket Hat UPF50+ Waterproof Sun Hat for Fishing Hiking Camping — https://a.co/d/gBSciML

 

5 thoughts on “my bucket hat”

  2. People wonder why I wear a hat, long sleeves, and long pants in Summer. Guess how much UV radiation you get at 3200 feet of elevation? Right. Anyway all my hats burned up and I had to buy a new one. Still can’t find a ‘pork pie’ like I used to wear. No doubt if I do it won’t cost $6 like the last one.

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  3. Love the hat and thank you for the advice! I would get laughed at running for the shade, while they slathered baby oil all over and yes, they knew better! Only night swimming for me! Skin cancer is fast spreading, so I’m grateful you are informed and hopefully nothing comes from those biopsies. Good day to you ~ :-)

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