Nathan Exposed » Show and Tell

Show and Tell

Recently my friend Lewis requested people to post a photo of their tattoo(s). So here’s mine and the story that goes along with it.

The tattoo is a cartoon of a Japanese scorpion, named Sasori. Sounds fancy, but it’s really just the translation of “scorpion” in Japanese. (Cue the gasps.)

When I was 17, an artist friend of mine used to draw characters on me with henna. I liked the scorpion so much (it’s my astrological sign) and I decided I’d enjoy being branded with it for the rest of my life. (This turned out to be false.)

My parents took me to the tattoo parlor and paid for the tattoo. It was a gift. My other 2 brothers have tattoos also. I guess you could say we’re ink brothers.

When I first got Sasori, I thought I was so cool. None of the other kids in school had one and I was just so bad-ass.

But then the questions started… “Why isn’t it colored in?”

I heard that dozens of times, day after day.

The tattoo was never meant to be in color. I was so bothered by that constant question that I’ve pretty much worn long pants the rest of my adult life. Sad, isn’t it?

Now the obvious question is “If it bothers you so much, why don’t you just have it modified?”

While that would make sense, I don’t want another tattoo. And I don’t want this one to be more prominent. In fact, someday, I plan to have it removed.

But as far as tattoos in general, I’m all for them. I just don’t want any on me.

Mon, Apr 21, 2008 @ 11:39 pm | Filed in Blogs | Permalink

2 Comments

I love my tattoos… My bee on my calf and my wedge of cheese on my shoulder blade. It’s always a nice surprise when I pull off my shirt and someone sees my tattoo and thinks a wedge of cheese is hilarious.

Posted by Rey Rey on Tue, Apr 22, 2008 @ 12:03 am

I’m glad you’ve finally cleared this deal up for all of us. Because you know full well that we’ve all been talking about it. Waiting, pensively, for the pic and story! I’m in love with ink, I must say. And yours is no exception. Enjoy it, show it off, turn it into a cool piece of art — not something to be hidden.

Posted by Lewis on Tue, Apr 22, 2008 @ 4:14 pm