Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/578278
SEPT 30 - OCT 6, 2015 UCW 7 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I w rote my f irst column about t he popular it y of t at toos more t han a dec ade ago af ter I found myself tour ing t he A irbor ne and Specia l Operat ions Museum dow ntow n w it h a woman of my v int age who spor ted a br ight yellow Tweet y Bird t at too on t he out side of her c a lf. F labbergasted as I was, I not iced t hat Tweet y — he of "I t aught I saw a puddy t at " fame — looked a bit st ar t led to f ind himself per manent ly perched on someone's leg. Since t hen, of course, I have obser ved t housands of ot her t at toos, most ly on younger people, including a recent ly spot ted one splayed across t he collar bones of young mot her doing her g rocer y shopping. In ver y c urly scr ipt t he word "Beloved" I am st ill t r y ing to f ig ure out whet her she is beloved of someone else or whet her she is especia lly fond of herself. In t he years since I f irst rea lized t he United St ates is in t he g r ip of t at too mania, I have v isited t wo t at too parlors where a "self- medic at ing " soldier was hav ing a $1,000-plus mult i colored A sian dragon inked around his lef t c a lf and where t he propr ietors of anot her est ablishment ac t ua lly asked for more reg ulat ion f rom t he st ate since t hey were st ick ing needles into folk s. A count r y musician who asked what my "problem" is w it h t at toos has c a lled me out f rom t he st age. Two of t he Precious Jewels got t at toos reading "Mom." Blessedly, t hey were henna and are now long gone. I have a lso w r it ten about t at too remova l, a bit of a g row t h indust r y, which c an be bot h ex pensive and painf ul and which does not a lways work . A f ter my v isit to t he f irst t at too parlor, I asked Up & Coming Weekly readers whet her you have t at toos and, if so, where and why. You responded in spades, st ar t ing w it h a good f r iend. She conf ided t hat she has t hree t at toos, each associated w it h a man, none of whom play any role in her life today. She is a lso sor r y she t at toos and t r ies to cover t hem in cer t ain circ umst ances, somet imes using st rateg ic a lly placed bandages. On reader descr ibed a ll four of her t at toos, each of which has endur ing meaning to her, even t hough she says she w ill not be t at tooed again af ter ex per iencing a relig ious revelat ion. "1) My name and a st ar on each side…(not t he br ightest idea I've ever had…but at least it 's not someone else's name!) 2) Since I wasn't sat isf ied w it h t he way it looked I had some clouds and a hummingbird added around it . 3) On my ank le I have an emblem of w ings, desig ned by myself and t he t at too ar t ist , in honor of my brot her-in-law (now deceased), bec ause he was para ly zed af ter being hit head on by a dr unk dr iver… . 4) T he one closest to my hear t is a pur ple, f illed in, tear drop under my eye. I lost a child years ago, no children since. It ex presses my cont inua l sor row over t hat loss, which I am st ill here in t he f lesh, t il I am w it h my precious child again. Persona lly, I like cer t ain t at toos (obv iously) as a for m of self-ex pression. But God's word plainly spea k s against it so no more for me." A 46 -year-old librar ian shared t hat she has t wo Mandar in t at toos and is at peace w it h t hem. She is a lso t hought f ul about her decision. "…t he reasons why people get t at toos are as var ied and persona l as t he t y pe of toot hpaste t hey selec t . . . I t hought about what it would mean to me and what it would sig nif y to t hose who had t heir ow n opiniona . . . I t hink w it h any t hing considered per manent and out side t he nor m of societ y, one must t hink long and hard and k now t hat just as you c an't change any par t of paint ing by one of t he master painters, you c an't f r ivolously decide to have your body t at tooed, it 's a life a lter ing ac t and should be v iewed as such." T he t at too rat iona le t hat ma kes t he most sense to me c ame f rom a diabet ic woman who was badly injured and unconscious. Hospit a l personnel t reated her w it h glucose t hat nearly k illed her. She has since had "I am a diabet ic" t at tooed on her forear m, a lt hough she does note t hat it does not look g reat "w it h dress up clot hes." It occ ur red to me t hat "If found, please ret ur n to…" might be helpf ul for wander ing senior cit izens. I have long since swor n of f w r it ing about t at toos at t he behest s of a f r iend and t he Precious Jewels, but anot her f r iend t ipped me back over t he edge by his obser vat ion af ter he saw a photog raph of me wear ing an or nate and det ailed Venet ian mask . Said f r iend wondered whet her I had submit ted to an ex tensive facia l t at too. T hat 'll be t he day! Ten years af ter t hose f irst t at too columns and millions of t at t s later, I would love to k now what you are t hink ing now. Do you have any t at toos? Do you st ill love t hem? Have you had any removed? W hy? W hy? A nd why? My inbox is open. Here I Go Again by MARGARET DICKSON MARGARET DICKSON. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET 7711 S Raeford Rd #111, Fayetteville, NC 28304 Gillis Hill Walmart Shopping Plaza Authentic Italian New York Style Food & Pizza, Boar's Head ® Meats & Homemade Breads. We have Italian desserts too! Cannoli, Tiramisu & Cheese Cake.