Nasty Sun
Listen in RealAudio
Email your weather question

"When was it exactly that the sun became the enemy?

Commentator Ann Thurlow.

Dr. Spock told us that a sunbath was good for a baby. He recommended that little babies sleep outside in their carriages; that they would be made healthy and strong by the sun's gentle rays. When I was a little girl, the sun meant less clothing - not more. It was not a sin to have tanned, freckled arms. It was not a fearful thing to pull off a bandage and marvel at the white strip underneath.

Now, the sun is a bad, crackly presence. A day at the beach is the equivalent of a 5 pound box of chocolates or a case of beer...a kind of delicious daring, maybe - but a slap in the face of chance. All I can think about now is how hot the sun is and what it's doing to my daughter as she runs up and down the beach. I own a multitude of sun screens. I know the SPF of a t-shirt. I wear a goofy, floppy hat, and even for all that, I can't enjoy it.

Do the increased UV rays actually make the sun hotter? Or does it just feel that way? No one has ever answered that question for me. Maybe the heat I feel is just the prickly stab of conscience when I try to enjoy a trip to the seaside. Ah, to be an Aztec."

Ann Thurlow is a commentator at CBC Radio Charlottetown Prince Edward Island. The Weather Notebook, which is produced by the Mount Washington Observatory is funded by The National Science Foundation, and underwritten by Subaruóthe beauty of All-Wheel Drive.