Old Fart in South Florida Says "Hi!"

[JBHoren]

I got my first tattoo on my 21st birthday -- late-January 1972 -- while on leave after finishing USArmy AIT, before reporting to my first duty station: Fort Richardson, AK. I didn't get any more ink until I'd finished my military service and drifted back to the Ft. Benning, GA area, where I met Louie Lombi, who'd recently opened a branch of his mentor's shop -- "Big Joe" Kaplan, from Mount Vernon, NY. Louie began sleeving me between July 1976 and December 1979; then I emigrated to Israel (!) and fell out of contact with him. We got back in touch in 2001, when I was in South Florida for a computer course (sent from Israel), and found that Louie had relocated to Greenacres/Lake Worth, FL, where my mother lived, and opened a shop of his own: Louie Lombi's Tattoo Paradise. Small world. I finally left Israel summer of 2004, and returned to South Florida. Louie finished my sleeves, and another artist in his employ, "Painless Jimmy" Hankins. Jimmy eventually did my chest, shoulders and "sleeved" my lower legs, ankles-to-knees.

I need a new photo -- this one's missing the bluebirds (PS: the women's heads were done in Columbus, GA by the late Jack Armstrong, in 1977... sponge-in-a-jar)

My shins and calves (missing the wrap-around sides) (Statue of Liberty outline done on July 4th, 2006, and all work on both legs was finished in late 2008)

And feet... (summer of 2009)

[Graeme]

Welcome to LST!

[hogg]

Super awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing and welcome to LST.

What do mean by "sponge in a jar"? Is that a reference to the old "sponge and bucket" method of hygiene?

[HettyKet]

Welcome and wow. Just wow!

Can we see your arms too?

[irezumi]

What do mean by "sponge in a jar"? Is that a reference to the old "sponge and bucket" method of hygiene?

Jack told me that when he was on the pike at Grimm's shop that the stations were set up to have one bucket between 2 stations for shared use.

[JBHoren]

Super awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing and welcome to LST.

What do mean by "sponge in a jar"? Is that a reference to the old "sponge and bucket" method of hygiene?

Yup... but I only got "mildly" infected.

[GrayCatLove]

Welcome. Interesting tattoos. :)

[deadsp0t]

Welcome! Cool tattoos! I dig the pig and rooster!

I too would like to see your arms. :)

[anomaly1964]

That is some serious ink SIR! It seems the represent your life VERY well!