MGblues

@Iwar Dude you just won my "Oh Shit" moment of the day!

I get asked "Who did the work" or "Was it done locally" a lot too and that doesn't bother me a bit. I don't tattoo, but all the artists who tattoo at the shop I've been going to the last year are more than happy to talk tattoo stuff any time I'm there.

I wasn't trying to stir up a shitstorm by posting this. Its not that I get offended, I just really don't know what to say. My old goto used to be "Cause I killed some guy in prison for asking about tattoos" but at 45, grey hair and glasses and 5' 11" and 145lbs soaking wet its probably not a good idea anymore. My new favorite!!! Really, all of them gave me a chuckle.

"Why did you get all those tattoos? What do they all mean?" That's a question I get a lot, and I honestly cannot think of an answer to save my life. I always get it from people who either have none or maybe one or two. "Because my dad got one in 1953 and it's one of the first things i can remember seeing from my childhood? I don't know?" It's hard to express to someone who will never know just what you have endured or are willing to endure to have something no one can ever take away from you.

The best online tattoo community. Period. Really glad I stumbled onto it.

I got my first tattoo below the knee on Sep 3rd. A fairly large design that goes from just below the knee to just above the ankle. Thanks to this thread I knew just what to expect on the healing process. Proof that not everything you read on the interwebs is bullshit.

My girlfriend of the past eight years is a total pinky. Nothing, nada, zilch. I had visible tattoos when she saw me for the first time, it's never been an issue, and there have been a lot of new tattoos on me since. If kittens licked em' on she'd be covered from head to toe, but since they're done with needles it ain't never gonna happen. It doesn't bother her in the least that I get stared at sometimes if we go to a nice restaurant or the movies. We were at dinner a couple of weeks ago and she stared at my arms for a while and said "Hey buddy, you know you got a big open spot on the back of your left forearm. When are you gonna get something so your arms match". God I love that woman!!! Funny thing is the only men I've ever heard her say she thought were attractive to her were me (better be), Paul (the guy that's been tattooing be for the last year) and Mike Ness from Social D (I turned her into a complete Social D junkie)!

Oops my bad. Paul Pearson at Tried and True in Smyrna Tn did it.

Well, it's been on me for two days now and is healing nicely. I love it! My camera over saturates red for some reason, so the red looks much better in person. sorry about the hairy legs :p

I got it yesterday. He did a sweet, super clean job on it. I'll post a picture once its not all red and puffy.

I am getting it! Tomorrow, Sep, 3rd, 2011, 1:00pm. I'm not looking forward to the pain but I can't wait to wear this tattoo. I'll see my Dad again in November. I think he'll like it. I printed it out on an 8x10 sheet of paper, which is almost just the right size for my leg (needs to be shrunk a tiny bit, but not much) and showed it to the artist who's going to do it way back in July. He already knew the back story but when he saw the actual design he said "That's just classic. Period. I cannot wait to do this tattoo." The only reason I didn't get it before is because I wanted to find someone I was absolutely sure would get "it" and could pull it off, and I have.

No shit! My sons are 21 and 18 and so far no tattoos. Maybe they want to be different than their dad. At this point I think its cool when I see people of a certain age who have no tattoos.

My Dad got this same design in Fayetteville, N.C. in 1953 (obviously not from Sailor Jerry, but the same design anyway). It's the only tattoo he ever got, and at 75 years old you can imagine that tattoo looks like total shit, and it does. I'm almost 46 now, but I can remember seeing seeing this tattoo since I was three years old. It got me hooked on anything and everything to do with tattoos ever since then. Pop's is on his left arm, about the size of a softball. I don't have any room on either arm for it so I'm gonna get it on my left leg on Saturday. Opinions?

Well if you are in downtown Nashville, these shops are the big names: Black 13 Tattoo Parlor Icon Tattoo and Body Piercing Kustom Thrills Tattoo I don't know where you'll end up staying on your trip to Nashville, but these are just the most well known shops I can think of in downtown Nashville. I live 30 miles south of Nashville in Smyrna and have been getting tattooed for the last year by Paul at Tried & True Tattoo. He's one of those "under the radar" guys. For whatever reason, he doesn't self promote (no website, only facebook and rarely at that) I think he just loves owning a street shop. He's doing a Sailor Jerry type skull and snake on my calf on sept 3. I can't wait.

In the same vein... I have an appointment for Sept 3 to get my first leg piece. It goes from just below the knee to the ankle. I was planning on shaving my own leg the morning of said tattoo. I'm afraid I'd find I enjoy having my left leg shaved by another man so much fun, I'd end up going to the shop every Saturday just to get it shaved again. Could get expensive.

Following this thread made me realize I may have the best Tech job on the planet. I'm a Communications Technician for one of the big 4 class I freight railroads in the U.S. I work with installing/maintaining everything from PC support, software, network, data, CCTV, satellite dishes, radios, on down to the humble telephone. I'm not stuck with the same stuff very often, or for very long. I cover a large territory, so I'm not bound to an office all the time. I've been on this job for 10 years as of this month. I got hired with visible tattoos and it has never been an issue. I kept on getting more as time went on ( the biggest amount in the last year). I have to move equally between corporate types in the division office, and guys that turn wrenches and swing hammers all day, but now they got to use a computer to do their job. I've been on the job long enough now (10 years this month) that everyone knows me and knows that I know my stuff, if they call me I can get your problem fixed. I've never had a negative comment directed my way because of my tattoos (the ones that are visible go from the wrist to "outta sight"). The only dress code we have is T-shirts with 1/4 sleeves and no shorts, (besides hard hats, safety glasses, etc., when necessary). The corporate types know I can fix their PC, so they don't hassle me, the wrench turners know the same, but they know I'm just a regular guy, and the other guys in my department know that I know my shit so the tattoos aren't an issue, they just take a peek when I get something new. All that plus I'm payed hourly an outreagous sum and union. Fuck Me Runnin' you could'nt beat me with a stick hard enough to leave this job.

The bunch of squiggly orange, red and green stuff on my upper arm in this photo (excuse the crappy cell phone pic.) Has been reworked over the month of July into this nice little dragon half sleeve now. It's what I always wanted it to look like in the first place.

These are not cover ups, just reworks. This is stuff on my left arm. I know they aren't the best tattoos in the world (Hell, I had to draw all but one of them. That's the only way you could get custom work where I grew up back then.) Just keep in mind I grew up in western N.C., circa 1980's, but they mean a lot to me still to this day. They are a part of who I am and I would never cover 'em up. When I got old enough to get tattooed, the only guys tattooing were bikers. I was a skinny, long haired punk kid who didn't fit in, determined to get tattooed, so I did it. Got my first tattoo, Feb 13th 1985, (the skull with the web and spider legs) in a friggin' biker bar... "J.B. Davis' Tattoo & Tavern" (I was WAY more scared of getting my ass kicked for going in there than getting the tattoo.)