Tattoos - Tats to Those in the Groove

OK, I am at the age where I can rant or rave at whelm and everyone will just attribute my mood swings to age.  I am now working on my third cup of coffee and I am in the groove.  Bet you haven't heard that word since 1976.  Coffee under my belt, pen to paper, here goes my rant on tats.  I wonder why tattooed people seem to have this need to desecrate their bodies.  Did they not get enough attention on their kindergarten art work?  Did Mom forget to put it on the frig?

What brings tats to the forefront of my mind is the scary sight I saw yesterday - maybe not scary, but questionable judgement.  I am questioning the judgement of all these tattoos.  I just don't get it.  It isn't that I am a prude, a little old-fashioned maybe, but I try to keep my mind open to new things.  While waiting at a stop light, I noticed a pretty young lady, probably in her early 20s, with a fairly good sized solid black tattoo on the inside of her wrist.  She was wearing a pretty bracelet, too.  Now....  she can take off the bracelet, can go bracelet-less, and can wear a half dozen bracelets if she wants, but she canNOT take off the tattoo.  It is there forever and ever and ever.  When she is 65 and goes to her granddaughter's wedding, she will be wearing that tattoo.     

Will this young woman and all the millions of others with ink all over their bodies look at their new borns and say "We've got to get that perfect soft skin covered up with ink.  Get the Magic Markers and let's mark him up.  No, I've got a better idea.  Let's get needles and some ink, and it really will be forEVer.  Yeah, let's do it."?  I think some really do think that.  Isn't that sad?

To all my tattooed friends, you have every right to do what you will to your bodies.  I have no problem with that. I just don't see the logic in it, but that's just me.  I have never seen a tattoo that makes anybody look better, not even permanent eyeliner or lipstain.  I will probably never tell you that your tattoo is pretty, or even nice, but you have a right to do it.

My thoughts keep coming back to this.  I think (and hope) that tattoos are just a fad.  If I am right and they are a fad, what are they going to do?  They are stuck!  They are stuck in bell bottoms even if bell bottoms have been out of style for 40 years.  They are stuck with that stupid dragon, heart, verse, whatever! on their bodies forEVer.  If you have or get a tattoo, I may question your judgement, BUT I will still love you ForEVer.