Bain de Soleil, for the St.Tropez Tan

Growing up in the 1970s and '80s, I remember these commercials and the distinct scent of Bain de Soleil. The other day I searched Drugstore.com for the famous, island scented orange gelle and was surprised to learn the product is still available. However, now that we're Florida residents an SPF of 4 and 6 won't cut it. The dark tanning product maxes out at SPF 10. Does anyone remember the Bain de Soleil commercials?

Watch and relive the magic of the Bain de Soleil jingle I so loved singing every time my folks took us to the beach.

Summer Ruled Until I Hit My Twenties

Enjoying the summer in 1982 in my backyard pool on Long Island.

It's amazing to me how many people love summer.

In my opinion, unless you're a teacher, a kid, a college student, someone with a kick-ass pool in your backyard or a house a few blocks from the beach, enjoying summer isn't really an option.

It's difficult for me to find the joy in this particularly sweaty season. It's hot as hell and you work full-time while the sun heats up your car to balmy 180 degrees and don't give me any crap about those damn silver foil windshield sunshade things. The weekend comes and then what? It typically rains or is cloudy. I don't have any friends who live nearby that own a pool. Our electric bill nearly triples because I'm forced to run crappy round-the-clock air conditioners with visions of wintertime in my head.


And to think I have the luxury of living and working in the 'burbs. Commuting to the city in the summer always sucked so much worse. That rank air. Clothes and hair clinging to every pore. Makeup running down my face. That awful stench below ground in the subways. The feeling of being butt-to-butt on a crowded crosstown bus. Forget it! And I truly do not miss the endless hike in 100 degree heat. Three summers of a fourth-floor-walk-up, juggling bags of groceries and/or laundry with sweat dripping down my back. That just sucked big time.

It's just that over the past ten summers, I've felt that other than BBQs and the occasional early Friday dismissal from work, I just don't feel the love. Summer and I ended our relationship a very long time ago. I don't know if we'll ever reconcile our differences. Maybe one day if we own a house with a swimming pool or if suddenly I become a teacher or can work from home... ahhh a poolside laptop perhaps ... we're through!

As always thanks for reading and remember this is just my humble opinion, you don't have to agree with me.