Devious6

This thread is getting littered with cat references. It's within a whisker of being derailed.

Perhaps we should say it is purrrfect.

Awesome @marley mission!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum! You can always post questions here. That will help you build valid post count, too.

Welcome to the forum!! What are you looking for?

I love it!! @el twe

Oh, man! I am so glad to hear that you're OK. That gear does work - imagine what those aches and rug burns would be like if it was skin on asphalt. Rest, manage the pain and worry about the bike later. It sucks to lose one that you love...but good to know it absorbed energy and damage for you to be able to walk away.

Met with my artist yesterday, put down a deposit and discussed the design again. He hopes to have it ready for me later this week - but still have plenty of time.

Since @PinkUnicorn found the Smithsonian link, I'll share the Soldier's Medal pictures with you. I don't think I've ever posted them on line before. The glare is the camera flash. It is awarded with two certificates - the award certificate as well as a narrative certificate. Most other medals only have the award certificate. I have them framed along with the eagle rank insignias that was able to recover from the locker in my office several weeks later and a picture of the Pentagon showing the destruction.

I was asked to donate my uniform and original award from that day - never thought it would be featured as a part of the exhibition. The award was the original one I received. I honestly didn't want one - I did then and still do feel that I was doing what I should have done. It was my responsibility to protect and help others. After time, people who were there submitted a request to have the award upgraded - without my knowledge - and I was ultimately awarded The Soldier's Medal at my retirement ceremony a little more than two years later. That truly humbled me. Thanks for the kind words. It was my honor to serve and I am grateful to have been able to help that day.

@oboogie Thank you. It was a day that totally changed my outlook on life. I am working with my artist on a version of this. Probably will be very similar with some changes/additions to personalize it for me.

I am truly stoked and anxious. This will be my personal memorial to 9/11 and my experiences in the Pentagon. I witnessed much that day - and carried the vivid nightmares for many months - much pain, fear, grief and heroism. Despite the fact that I tried to avoid it, I was humbled to receive the Army's highest award for non-combat heroism. It is the only of my many awards I received during my career that hangs in my den - and only because it was others who were there who petitioned the Army to present the award two years later when I retired. I accepted it on behalf of those who were killed, injured and the many heroes I saw that day. Although I did not experience any real long-lasting emotional or physical impacts, each year I still find myself slipping back into the nightmares as the anniversary approaches. I can literally smell the burning jet fuel and human flesh mixed in the acrid smoke, hear the screams and feel the heat of the flames. There is even a block of time that remains hidden to me - a point where my only memory includes seeing blue skies, green grass and hearing birds chirping...literally as I know I was looking out a window overlooking the post-impact destruction. I hope to never regain the memory of what I actually saw. So, on the 15th anniversary, this tattoo is my attempt/hope to finally close that chapter in my life. It is a way to recognize what happened, what I saw and did, and all those I knew who were killed, injured and impacted emotionally. I want it to express both what happened but also the awakening and hope of our Nation afterwards. It is a Nation that I hope we can find again - without having to witness the same degree of trauma, destruction and loss of life....unfortunately it seems a remote possibility now. If you are interested, this book is a collection of interviews done by The Army's Center for Military History that captured the day's events in the Pentagon in the words of those who lived it. My recollections begin on Page 105. As you look at the cover picture of the book, my office and where I was when the plane hit was just above the "R" in LOFGREN and where you see the lower yellow flames. You can download the book for free as a .pdf through this link. http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-119-1/CMH_Pub_70-119-1.pdf

I'm a relative newbie to tattooing so I can't offer much advice, but welcome to the forum!!

So, this morning, while soaking in our spa at 6:30 AM like we do most weekdays, I "mentioned" to Lynn that I had scheduled my session for September 10th. Houston, we are Go for launch.

I am looking forward to seeing how our local artist, Ryan Ashley Malarkey, will fare out.

Welcome to the forum! I think the key is that you want water to run over it as you wash it to keep it clean...not blast away directly at it like a fire hose.

Booked for 1 PM on Saturday September 10th! I can't wait!!

Everyone has their own opinions and styles. If you like it...it doesn't matter what others think, IMHO. I like the style and I knew immediately it was Johnny Cash.

My only concern is that I tend to get rashes from adhesives - any time I have an IV or have to wear a bandage long term I get a rash. I noticed that the Saniderm directions cautions against using it if you do have allergic reactions to adhesives. I think I'll stick with the tried and true.

@oboogie - Totally awesome!! Wonderful work on both. Maybe I should look more into doing a Saniderm heal for my next on. Hhhmmmm??...

Welcome to the forum.

@oboogie - Awesome!!! How's it feeling today?

Psyched!!! Talked with my artist today - he's going to book me for September 10th. This one will...hopefully... be my 9/11 catharsis. 15th anniversary and the memories crowd back in about now... Really looking forward to this one!!

Awesome pics, Dan!!