AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 27
Monday, October 27, 2008
To Tatt or not to tatt?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t tell my kids but I’m seriously thinking of getting a tattoo. Mom probably wouldn’t be thrilled either.
Tatts have been on the ‘don’t’ list where our kids were concerned until they turned 18. Then after 18 it was more of a lobbying effort.
Mainly I think most tattoos these days are gotten without a lot of mature thought, which I understand opens me up to a lot of flack from the young generation. I think anyone under the age of 25 who gets a tattoo probably gave more thought to their sock choice than getting ink shot under their skin.
So I’m sure there are going to be howls from the progeny when word gets out that I’m thinking about a tattoo at the tender age of 52. But it’s something I’ve been considering for several years.
Let me add a few qualifiers. If and when I get a tattoo it’s not going to be any larger than a 50-cent piece and not visible to the world at large. I’ve resisted so far because I wanted to get something that had some real meaning. This meant passing on things like my college team logo, Tweety Bird riding a Harley or a buxom topless mermaid swimming languidly around my forearm.
My quest for inky meaning changed last week when I completed the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco and it was suggested I get “26.2” inked on the backside of my shoulder. I was almost ready to get it done the day after the marathon down at Fisherman’s Wharf but after much discussion I decided to bring my business local.
And I know I can’t return it if I change my mind, which is another reason I have pondered this choice for so many years. Tattoos and monogrammed towels just can’t be brought back, so I wanted to make this choice with proper deliberation.
And then there is the age issue. Is this a well-considered decision or a plunge across the threshold into a full mid-life crisis?
What would be next? I can’t afford the splashy sports car and would really rather spruce up the old Volvo, anyway.
I have too much hair to buy a toupee and there’s no way I’m going to start buying my clothes at Abercrombie.
A body piercing? Not with my low threshold of pain, which also has played a role in delaying the body art. By the time one realizes getting a tattoo might really hurt it’s usually too late.
To tatt, or not to tatt? That is the question.
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