Years have passed, and I have become wiser. With wisdom, came the awareness that there is nothing cool about riding a motorcycle at a 100 mph, and then having all your body parts taped together if you managed to get out alive out of an impending carnage. I would rather be protected by some air-bags. But, saying this, I dont want to jinx all my motorcycle riding pals. Cool looking tattoos go hand in hand with the rebel-with-a-cause look. Of course so do body piercings and dyed hair.
But my particular grievance is with tattoos. Tats, as they are called, are beautiful when you get them done initially. The novelty alone is quite exhilirating. They vary from being elaborate pieces of wearable art on your arms, your back, your naughty bits to simple I-just-want-to-do-it-for-the-heck-of-it ones. After going through the excruciating pain, the satisfaction is pretty short lived. Its only a matter of time , a year or two tops, before boredom sets in, and then old age and then sagging skin set in. Unless of course you are one of those tough biker dudes, whose dating joint is the local watering hole. You can totally attract the right kind of crowd then. Someone called Candy or Sugar.
Whats worse is people wearing them go from being bad-assed rebels to just plain ole tacky hags or hogs. And they are so permanent. They are there to stay. Till death do you part. Or perhaps, till complicated plastic surgery do you part.
Needless to add to that is the accidental oops moment. A tat slipping out when you are in a formal work setting. I maybe exaggerating a little, but I wouldnt trust a manager who had a scorpion tattoo on his shoulder that slipped out at a team event or an employee with a little heart on her lower back.
So, my request to y'all, especially the young ones, think long and hard before you go down this road. Unless you want to be the next Amy Winehouse or are getting ready to visit the old 'Hotel California', please dont get tattoos plastered over your body. And for some reason, if you hafta do it, please try and get a subtle one in some imperceptible place on your body, so it could become a relic soon to be forgotten.
