Tattoo This

In 1996, my friend Lisa visited me from California and we took a trip to the Village to get tattooed. Her ex-husband, the father of her children, had recently died and so had my father. How much could a tattoo hurt? This was before they were legal in the state, and when we arrived at the parlor there was a sign on the front door. "Temporary Tattoos Only. For permanents, please wait for our shuttle to New Jersey." The tattoo artist who escorted us to the back room later explained that the sign was just a front. "Of course the NYPD all get their tats done here," he said shaking his head.

On my ankle I got the Chinese character for "Father" (shown above). Lisa got a skull and cross bones on her back. The significance? You'd have to understand her wonderful but sometimes warped sense of humor.