shortly before performing the skin cancer surgery, the surgeon asked me if i had been exposed to the sun very much as a child… which, upon reflection, confused me. at first i thought she was asking if i had been exposed to the sun during my childhood. i had never really thought about this before. i seem to recall something out there that i imagined to be the sun, but back then, i didn’t really have a way to prove it. i simply relied upon popular opinion,  and never considered questioning it.  o, what a fool i was back then!

unless i had misread the question entirely. maybe Dr. Metha was asking me if i had been exposed to the sun during its childhood, not mine, 4.6 billion years ago–in which case, her question made complete sense.

but it was a different sun back in those days. I will try to resist the temptation to slip into sentimentality, but i am simply telling you  that the sun in its childhood had a lot more going for it than mere exposure. now it’s all about exposure, marketing, networking, image. I find this to be disheartening.

not that i’m giving up hope. planets, stars, galaxies and constellations are all capable of positive change. people have that capacity, too. perhaps the sun will take my words to heart since we have so much history together, quite a history, a torrid history. in my view,  the sun just needs a bit of prodding. call it an intervention for the sake of change. what could go wrong?