Ultraviolet

Merril chose the word from the dictionary this time.  To me it really shows it is not a set up.  The word she blindly chose was “ultraviolet.”  Ultraviolet is a light spectrum just beyond visible.  It is shorter then violet but longer than X-rays.  I only know that because I red it while writing this.
The sun produces ultraviolet (UV) radiation most of which is absorbed by oxygen in the earths atmosphere.  Just as well really as the earth could not sustain life without the protection the atmosphere provides.  Some gets through, and it is responsible for tanning of the skin.  The sun is more dangerous on a light complexion as it has a lesser defence against uv light.
UV rays are responsible for skin cancers as well apparently.  It is really something I never thought about.  But it is real.  Only now is my past coming home to roost.  I lived in Townsville.  It was a sign of toughness to not wear a shirt.  Tans were desirable.  Stuff pops up on my hands and face I need to get cut out.  Consequences may be delayed, but they do happen.
You are probably going to find this incredibly hard to believe.  I am not at the peak of manhood.  I am aging. Ultraviolet light has caused my skin to age too.
We have seen the effect ultraviolet light has on our plastic watering cans.  They fall apart.  Plastic garbage may take 400 years to breakdown, but watering cans seem to take much shorter.  If I leave one in the sun it is unusable very quickly.
What amazed me was how quickly the likes of the kreepy crawly broke down.  I eventually found out I could get a uv resistant one, but the one always supplied was sus.  It would break.  I tried to get the pool up for my bro so it would be easy to maintain.  A uv resistant line on the kreepy crawly was needed or else I would be the one doing the work.
We are into bees, and it turns out bees have a great need of uv.  An experiment was done on them and when uv light was switched off completely the bees had no interest in foraging or leaving the hive.  They slept in.  The only reason they would come out of the hive was to stave off starvation.
Bees were the only animal that needed uv to do what they had to do.  Other animals and birds would use uv but bees needed to be able to see uv light.  Bees also see a uv marker on flowers to tell them if it is a good one for landing on.
It is amazing how things around me affect me though I may not know it.  Uv is like that.  Does knowing that make me a better person?  I think not but it does make me a more informed person.