Keith Booe

Tattoos are quite a conversation piece.  As ridiculous as it is to do so, many people still attach stigma to them.  People love to prove how wise they are by pointing out how dumb they think you are for getting inked.  The reasons are as varied as people, from the always idiotic “your body is a temple, don’t desecrate it” to the “you’ll regret that when you’re older”.  If it wasn’t comical, I’d likely be annoyed that so many people in this world clearly know me better than I know myself.

Maybe you’ve seen this, but I find it pretty funny and it’s actually quite accurate, if you’re one of those people who doesn’t give much thought to whether you really want a tattoo, or what you should get.  (I don’t know who came up with this, so can’t credit it, but certainly don’t claim the work as my own):

Think before you ink...

With never having seen the above, I’ve followed it almost religiously.  I made one mistake on my very first tattoo, but I was a young, impetuous nineteen year old Marine, and it was one I was able to easily rectify later, without ruining the meaning of the tattoo for me.  Yep, I’m a forward thinking mofo…  It also helps that I’m not the kind of person who walks into a tattoo shop and thinks “Wow, that’s a COOL looking evil clown, I should totally get that tattooed on my face RIGHT NOW!”  Quite the contrary, I actually struggle and spend a LOT of time thinking about what I’m getting, whether I really want it, where I want it, and whether it will always hold true for me, or whether I think it’s a “temporal” image.  Of course, being temporal doesn’t mean that I won’t still get one; I just find it important for myself to truly understand why I’m doing this before I do it.  This has worked out for me so far, and I don’t regret even a tiny bit any work I’ve had done.  Including the piece that I had modified (I can’t call it “fixed”, because it wasn’t broken when I got it).

With all of this said, I am now having second thoughts about one particular piece I have.  Note I did NOT say “regrets”, I said “second thoughts”.  But that reason for that…?  Oh, the times they are a-changin’…

Many years ago I, along with a multitude of others I know, got what is called a “meat tag”… if you aren’t familiar with the term, it’s not surprising.  Most of you know what military dogtags are… a “meat tag” is simply a tattoo of that information on your body.  In >99% of cases it is done on your rib cage, most often on the left side.  That is where mine is.  It means something to me, it represents something important to me.  It’s small, can’t be seen unless I choose to expose it, and is very cleanly done.

So why would I regret it..?

Well, the format for a dogtag is like this:

Lastname, Initials

Blood Type

Social Security Number

Branch of Service    Gas Mask Size

Religious Preference

It’s that middle one above that is the kicker now.  Many years ago when I got this, it was much less of a big deal.  But now, walking around the beach with one’s SSN clearly emblazoned for all to see, especially with their name and initials right there, is probably not the smartest thing in the world to do.  And I’m realistic enough to know that I won’t be keeping my shirt every second I’m outside the walls of my home (despite all of your requests that I do so).

So my dilemma is what to do…  I’m debating back and forth between having laser removal done, or having it covered with something else.  But the covering may not be easy, either… it’s just large enough to be inconvenient, and it’s black ink, so won’t be easy to cover.  I’ve some ideas I’m working on and if they don’t work out, it may just come off.  Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life fighting identity theft that happens through something I can easily prevent.

So, the decision process churns along… and I’ll soon take whatever action I decide.  In the meantime, though, it’s a surety that I’ll have new ink in the very near future.  Even if I don’t cover this one, I have other work that needs to be done, and I’ve got an itch that has to be scratched.

PS – Tattoos in that location flippin’ hurt, so whatever I get is going to have to be worth it.  Although lasering hurts, too, I hear…