Why did we ever use tanning beds in high school?

I  love it when my friends sent me notes like this!

My friend Debbie sent me this text the other day. She just had to have her fourth mole removed. As a teenager, neither of us though we'd regret tanning until we were older. Who would have thought that "older" meant "in our 20s?"

When Debbie and I met up for happy hour over the weekend, she let me snap a picture of her stitches. Ouch! Fortunately, all of Debbie's moles have been either benign or precancerous, so the procedure to remove them is less invasive than with a melanoma. Still, removing even a benign spot can be uncomfortable, and it can leave a pretty nasty scar. Plus, what would you rather spend your hard-earned cash on: a new pair of Frye boots or a biopsy because you spent too much time in the sun? I'll take the boots, please.

Stitches from my friend's most recent skin biopsy. It's
about one-third the size of my melanoma scar.