Bard Comics…
Who knew William Shakespeare was not only a comic book fan but also a publisher of them as well? Stay tune. You might just see more of “Bard Comics” in the future. You never can tell with me, right?
So it’s been two days now…
…Since I got my tattoo and my mom and dad’s house hasn’t gone nuclear yet. In fact, they seemed rather okay with the fact even though I could still tell there was a bit of lingering disappointment in my mom’s voice. That may sound a bit strange coming from a guy who just celebrated his 43rd birthday but that was the only apprehension I had about “permanently marking my body”… I had a feeling how they were going to react and I’d really be lying if I said that there wasn’t any concern on my part about how’d they react.
But in some ways, that’s why I decided to go ahead and make the leap… too many times I just felt like I have gone through life doing what was expected or being ultra responsible… never taking a chance because I might either fail or, worse, disappoint someone. Heck, even starting this strip during one of the worst possible economic times in our country (The USA) was a risk but yet, after three years, I’m still here.
Still though, I was tired of sitting on the sidelines and admiring others for having the guts to do what I either couldn’t or I was too afraid to do. My tattoo represents a lot of things to me (I think that’s the case for most people who take a long time deciding to get a tattoo) but one of the things is to remind myself to quit being afraid to “go for it”.
I never thought I’d actually have the guts to get a tattoo. In some ways, I’m still surprised that I went ahead and did it. But I already made a decision to permanently alter my body back in January when I had a vasectomy. The only difference I see right now is that one change is visible (if I choose to let it be) while the other isn’t.
Added to that, I have also permanently scarred or damaged my body in one shape or form over the years playing so many violent sports – or a position that requires your body to get scarred up (catcher). I have a permanently deformed pinky from a badly damaged dislocated knuckle from playing volleyball. I have a terribly crooked middle finger from jamming it repeatedly playing basketball when I was younger. I have a permanent indentation in my shin where a high school kid threw me a wicked curveball when I was warming him up without shin guards. Now fortunately none of these things were ever serious or debilitating… nothing has been cut off or isn’t in perfectly working order – they just don’t “normal” as they once did before I made the decision to play those sports and, subsequently, injuring myself.
So, for my mom and dad – and so many others that might think I have permanently disfigured my body, well, they are right. I have. But I did so many, many years before I ever decided to put ink to my skin. In some cases, my tattoo simply draws attention away from the disfigured parts of my body I dd to myself years ago by playing sports – or, at least, playing sports in the style I played them.
With all of that said though, the decision to ink my body was one that took shape over many years – more than 25 years as a matter of fact. This was not a rash or impulsive decision. I understand tats are not for everybody even if society as a whole has grown more accustomed to them. But again, I did this for so many different reasons, I still haven’t processed through all of them yet.
But I am glad I “went for it”.
-Chris
