A lasting tribute

So, this is how it happens…that totally spontaneous moment when it suddenly sounds like a great idea to get a tattoo.  When the “Hangover Guy” woke up in the morning with a Mike Tyson tattoo across his face I thought…what an idiot…who does that?  Well evidently I do.  I have lived half a century and never even had an “inkling” to get one. Not that I had anything against them….nothing had inspired me…until now.

I was sitting downtown enjoying a slice of pizza and a beer when it suddenly came over me…I’m going to get a tattoo. It wasn’t like I was three sheets to the wind…I swear…One beer and one slice of pizza.  Ok…two beers and one slice of pizza. I sent a text to my son telling him of my plan, asking him if it was wrong for a 50-year-old woman to get a tattoo of her dog. He replied it was up to me, but I was not allowed to get one on my chest or lower back because that’s white trash.  Ok…sounded like sound advice.

So off I went to a nearby tattoo parlor , walking into a room full of twenty somethings getting some serious tats….and they just stared at me.  The owner looked a little nervous…probably wondering if I was looking for my underage daughter or something.

He said “Hey what ya need man?”

And I said “I would like to inquire about a tattoo…I’ve never had one before and I have a few questions.”

I’m pretty sure I detected a slight sigh of relief from the guy as he called another guy up to the counter for me.  The new guy looked doubtful…I tried to “hip” it up a little bit.

I said “Hey man, I was thinking of getting a tat…never had one but I think they’re really cool.” He still looked doubtful…probably thinking the owner hated him and sent all the old people to him.

So then he said “Why do you wanna tat? Once you get em they last forever?”

It was fairly obvious he wasn’t too excited about working with somebody old enough to be his…older sister (OK his mom) until I said with my voice cracking  “Because my dog died this week and I want something to remember him.”

Suddenly he was all in…”Oh…hey I’m really sorry, we can do something really cool. What was his name?” It was then that we bonded…we talked things through and he showed me the different kind of scripts we could use, finally deciding to put it on my ankle.

As I sat there waiting to get my tat I continued texting my son stating I was glad he didn’t care he had a bat shit crazy mom. He simply replied back “Sarge would love it.”

Here’s what I know…I love it…I love it because not only is he always in my heart…but now he will always be on my ankle. Something I can look at and at times rub my fingers across his lettering…bringing me a little closer to “the best damn dog ever.”

In Memory