Stars and Stripes All the Way!

I first decided I wanted a tattoo when I was 16 years old. My family was living in a little armpit town in Nebraska (Beatrice) at that time, and of course there was no such thing as a tattoo parlor anywhere near, not to mention hat my parents would have hit the stratosphere if I'd even mentioned such a thing (my dad told me I couldn't get my ears pierced because it "looked cheap").

I would draw a design on the inside of my left ankle with green ink every day. There were real strict dress codes in school in those days (mid 60s) so I obviously couldn't have anything that was visible to the eagle eyes of the dress code enforcers. If I'd known how to make that design permanent, I would have done it.

Time passed, we moved around, I got married and had kids, and never stopped thinking about getting a real tattoo. I just didn't have the motivation to go and do it (or the money, for a lot of that time). After we moved to California I knew that it was just a matter of time and opportunity.

I read a story in the local newspaper about a guy named Tomas who owns the city's downtown tattoo parlor, the Body Shop. The more I read, the better I liked his attitude. I decided then and there that when I finally did take the plunge, that would be where I'd go.

The company I worked for at that time had a contest to determine the friendliest store in the chain, and our store won, which means each person on the staff got fifty bucks. I decided that this was a sign that it was time to spend the money on something just for me--my first tattoo. I was 46 years old at the time (nothing like waiting 30 years to make sure you aren't acting in haste!)

Off to the Body Shop I went. I had long ago thought out my design, just seven small stars on the front part of my right shoulder over the collarbone. (A lot of private and personal significance to the design). Now, I should mention that the Body Shop is more of a biker type place rather than one that caters to trendoids like the parlors down on Melrose or Sunset. So here's this middle-aged woman walking in asking for a tattoo, obviously the guys behind the counter thought I was out of place and out of my mind. :)

I explained what I wanted, and Tomas told me he didn't think that would look good. He thought I should add to the design and make it more visible, so he pulled out a sheet of paper and some colored pencils and drew the stars surrounded by a "swoosh" of multicolored dots. I didn't have to think twice, it was obvious that he was right.

There was nobody getting tattooed at the moment, so down I sat in the chair. Tomas was still looking at me like "Who's this nut case?" but he drew out some stars on a piece of paper and asked me about the size. I thought they should be smaller. He re-drew them and showed me how he'd place them, and the design looked great. I approved it, and he then drew a line across my skin with a dry needle just to make sure I knew what I was getting into. It didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as I'd feared, so I told him to go ahead.

The most fun part of the whole experience was watching people walk in the door and see me, this middle-aged lady, obviously someone's mom, getting tattooed. Talk about dropping your teeth on the spot, it was hysterically funny to see the reaction. I think even Tomas didn't think I was serious about it till the whole design was done.

"Now you're one of us," he said, as he applied the plastic wrap. "Damn right," said I, as I happily paid up. Stars and spots forever!

-Ishtar525

Want to add your own body art testimonial? Fill Out This Simple Form

Go Back To Testimonial Menu Page