Tattoo Culture

I was reading a story today about a woman who got her first tattoo at 99, she's now 101 and has gotten a few more. Sorta proves the theory that getting inked is addictive. I got my first tattoo in Feb of 2010, I'm now up to 4. In a little over a year I've gone from none to 4 and thinking about getting more. It's kinda crazy, but at the same time I love all my tats and they all have meaning to me. Lets go through them, shall we?

This was my first tattoo, I got it in Feb 2010. I got the idea for this one from a pendant necklace my grandmother gave me. It was a tribal sun with strength written on the back. It's meaning is in a spiritual sense of the sun giving our Earth strength, but it's also a sentimental reminder of my grandmother.

My second; Peace & Love, two things I believe strongly in. I know the Dove can be a popular tattoo, but I thought it represented my beliefs best. I got this in July of 2010. My first tattoo I thought long and hard about, this one I had the idea and got the tattoo within a few weeks.

My third is a Fender Jaguar Bass Guitar with Passion written in it. I've been playing bass with various bands since I picked the instrument up in the fall of 2000, this is an actual bass I own & it represents my passion for music. I'm a music geek; I love listening & playing, reading all about different things my fav bands did while writing & recording some of my fav songs. I got this started in August of 2010 and had it finished a month later.

This is my latest tattoo, it's a picture of my dog Sparky. I had grown up with this dog & loved her very much. She had to get put down this past winter, she was nearly 15, had bad vision/hearing & mobility problems among other things. I decided to get her face along with a quote from Neil Young's "Long May You Run" as a way to always remember her. I got this in March of this year.

I'm sure there's more to come, I find certain things happen in life that inspire a decision to get another tattoo. These events & symbols are important to me and have brought me to where I am now. I suppose in a way, years from now they will all tell a story, although I don't expect to be totally covered I will likely get a few more as time goes by. The point of all this was that it doesn't matter your age or how many tattoos you have, so long as they mean something. I've seen many tattoos on people that are the equivilent to a cheesy one hit wonder on the charts. Sure it's cool now, but in 5, 10 or more years will it be? I'm confident the choices I've made will stand the test of time like a good album.... will yours?