Thanksgiving Re-Post: A Holiday Tattoo from 2010

Every year at Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things, with my lovely wife and two amazing daughters at the top of the list. My new job cracks the top five this year, although it might appear as though my intense love of this blog is suffering as a result. As I've said before, you, the readers out there in the world, are also people for whom I am thankful. <i>Mahalo</i>, as they say in my childhood home, for visiting often.<br /><br />Posts have been few and far between, I realize, this fall. Nonetheless, I wanted to celebrate the holiday with this post from Thanksgiving 2010, slightly edited, which appeared <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/11/happy-thanksgiving.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!<br /><br /><i>In honor of the holiday, I am sharing this, my newest tattoo, located above my knee on my right thigh:</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBomfF9pc8Ne37Pclb3x7gjl_YQlZXOpqz8RN4R2boegGA44pluZa2dE5bxPY2zJdwLSnwi_CFY2s_h2Sb-eXUaYIRXRvfQR3EEXzUzmnFSi7OzCz9CJFetZj-anrn79YLPl_dpVBc0Q/s1600/Thanks+tattoo+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBomfF9pc8Ne37Pclb3x7gjl_YQlZXOpqz8RN4R2boegGA44pluZa2dE5bxPY2zJdwLSnwi_CFY2s_h2Sb-eXUaYIRXRvfQR3EEXzUzmnFSi7OzCz9CJFetZj-anrn79YLPl_dpVBc0Q/s640/Thanks+tattoo+wm.jpg" width="640" /></a><i></i></div><i><br /></i><br /><i>This was done at <a href="http://www.handofglorytattoo.com/">Hand of Glory</a> in Brooklyn yesterday as part of the shop's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/event.php?eid=171304776221493">$75 Thanksgiving Tattoo Special</a> ... </i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dNydf3UaugIQnHqUejKhOZCZXjeuHZpzRHywX18N_86tk6EXBUiH50XC0KWVIfnEK-ae8iBZo7UBNZ1UW8jvpvqWn9GSXoIm3vOduPzgvCDGVw8ziA1kI_fZkd1qI0rnFty3MBWUv-E/s1600/Troll_Skin_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></i></div><i></i><br /><i>For those of you just tuning in, check the pre-post <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/11/great-thanksgiving-tattoo-event.html">here</a>, which includes all the Thanksgiving flash designed for the occasion. I asked readers to vote on which tattoo to get, and this one sneaked out a narrow victory over the traditional Native American profile.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>I like this design because it combines a lot of traditional tattoo elements and delivers an image with a sociopolitical subtext. We have the traditional American flag and handshake designs, but the added element of crossed fingers serves as a reminder that, despite apparent good intentions, there was subsequently a historical betrayal of that initial good will.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>But that's just one perspective, of course, and the Thanksgiving holiday focuses on the positive in our society. The mere existence of the tattoo reminds me to be thankful, which I alluded to in my original post.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>I was fortunate enough to have <a href="http://www.handofglorytattoo.com/pages/brian.html">BJ</a> as my artist again. He had inked <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/08/tattoosdays-trip-to-hand-of-glory.html">my Friday the 13th tattoo</a> last August, and I appreciate that he works quickly and concisely.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftcrY9VFTZD4DcvA4EmLCGsI61VwFvY9M7slQBq5IYmGlPYS2MFDjs2796IeBBcMjqW8M02JzsGVr9wNTpHeB8pSyCQco02Uhvbp0HY5jiY0_mk9PPPvq6071gIlMkVhU9IHNYdH64VI/s1600/Brian+Faulk+At+Work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftcrY9VFTZD4DcvA4EmLCGsI61VwFvY9M7slQBq5IYmGlPYS2MFDjs2796IeBBcMjqW8M02JzsGVr9wNTpHeB8pSyCQco02Uhvbp0HY5jiY0_mk9PPPvq6071gIlMkVhU9IHNYdH64VI/s400/Brian+Faulk+At+Work.jpg" width="386" /></a></i></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>BJ at Work</i></td></tr></tbody></table><i>It was nice, also, that this design was one of his contributions to the flash sheet, as he was kind enough to embellish slightly on the original design, and it always seems better when an artist is tattooing his or her own design. As for the idea behind it, he was trying to represent graphically a broken treaty. I'm extremely pleased with the end result.</i><br /><i>...</i><br /><br /><i>I want to thank all of the readers who voted for designs, and for everyone who reads and supports the site.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>And thanks again to ... BJ at Hand of Glory, and to my family, at home in Brooklyn and across the U.S., for their support</i><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2013, 2011, 2010 Tattoosday. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

Thanksgiving Re-Post: A Holiday Tattoo from 2010

Every year at Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things, with my lovely wife and two amazing daughters at the top of the list. My new job ...

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Jeff Shares Some Amazing Work by Caesar Tattoo

Last Sunday, I met a guy named Jeff at my local laundromat, where I happen to meet a lot of the contributors to Tattoosday, it seems.<br /><br />Jeff has a ton of work, including neck tattoos and some amazing black and gray sleeves. Turns out tattoos were created by Caesar, an amazing artist who works out of New York City.<br /><br />He allowed me to grab a few samples of his work:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Wr2mlWKWQ/Uoj4--kNKrI/AAAAAAAAdLQ/bvG6F3qSY0I/w346-h615-no/20131110_093617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Wr2mlWKWQ/Uoj4--kNKrI/AAAAAAAAdLQ/bvG6F3qSY0I/w346-h615-no/20131110_093617.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/yDv_AsBB1ZfKzAuJMxv86tz0oqTDSlQoFmTfEV-VuTxr=w285-h473-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/yDv_AsBB1ZfKzAuJMxv86tz0oqTDSlQoFmTfEV-VuTxr=w285-h473-no" width="384" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/8JJjhf3B5-l1bh4HTPDDfx6NPpTyCfdhhCnh33aC9E2p=w289-h574-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/8JJjhf3B5-l1bh4HTPDDfx6NPpTyCfdhhCnh33aC9E2p=w289-h574-no" width="322" /></a></div><br />And this spine running down the length of his arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0q0bzyMFhs4/Uoj5uK-lO6I/AAAAAAAAdLg/RhDRU4W8pck/w160-h564-no/20131110_093623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0q0bzyMFhs4/Uoj5uK-lO6I/AAAAAAAAdLg/RhDRU4W8pck/w160-h564-no/20131110_093623.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><br />Unfortunately, these photos really don't do the work justice, but I was able to find some of the work on his Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CaesarTattoo/photos_stream">here</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIb96NzyY0UmkajXzugxYP6bFKD0lj8yTPIUnBFfwDTU8e1RwGFoXrJE4yl1y3jk6Tz07gP8W9rdgINfqAs4UqzYkk-URBINJHMtGkj5OffzRhJGNrHEPPXNxTJ3T8aMpjngWgEvpbOco/s1600/jeff+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIb96NzyY0UmkajXzugxYP6bFKD0lj8yTPIUnBFfwDTU8e1RwGFoXrJE4yl1y3jk6Tz07gP8W9rdgINfqAs4UqzYkk-URBINJHMtGkj5OffzRhJGNrHEPPXNxTJ3T8aMpjngWgEvpbOco/s640/jeff+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo Courtesy of Caesar Tattoo, <span id="docs-internal-guid-3556a084-6731-6f85-bccb-53f26740bc0e"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">©2010 Caesar Tattoo</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEhh5xu-9vqD8uczH8h8ug_MBVHHqQSvybQKWEfynI94bnLQm7dJjKU16yZiFdtUJlysC7hYaBQZxgkzVk24OhBCUjdNEvxMlBU39bybDp7nURVoJfXzXWJn18Z48MXusDx52g-z0SKc/s1600/jeff+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEhh5xu-9vqD8uczH8h8ug_MBVHHqQSvybQKWEfynI94bnLQm7dJjKU16yZiFdtUJlysC7hYaBQZxgkzVk24OhBCUjdNEvxMlBU39bybDp7nURVoJfXzXWJn18Z48MXusDx52g-z0SKc/s640/jeff+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo Courtesy of Caesar Tattoo, </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-3556a084-6731-6f85-bccb-53f26740bc0e" style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">©2010 Caesar Tattoo</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiDpa9CGQPJx-63Rj5vOjaFbgCq4Wy4kL_LjEzX-eQ1GR3SYF0jGhCsg9Ldawm_57LUiM55fNQ2tJwaqh3I60I3QViJHnoaCCIBoLYztB750VOTjUVr4Z-mdTVQARolbqyyqWR-inJY8/s1600/jeff+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiDpa9CGQPJx-63Rj5vOjaFbgCq4Wy4kL_LjEzX-eQ1GR3SYF0jGhCsg9Ldawm_57LUiM55fNQ2tJwaqh3I60I3QViJHnoaCCIBoLYztB750VOTjUVr4Z-mdTVQARolbqyyqWR-inJY8/s640/jeff+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo Courtesy of Caesar Tattoo, </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-3556a084-6731-6f85-bccb-53f26740bc0e" style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">©2010 Caesar Tattoo</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />You can check out more of this amazing artist's portfolio at <a href="http://www.caesartattoo.com/">Caesar Tattoo</a> in Manhattan's East Village. Our friends at Needles & Sins ran a short profile of Caesar <a href="http://www.needlesandsins.com/2010/05/artist-profile-caesar-tattoo.html">here</a>. Jeff even told me that some of his work has ended up in one of Marisa Kakoulas' black and gray tattoo compendia.<br /><br />You can see an even more extensive collection of Caesar's work on his Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CaesarTattoo/photos_stream">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Jeff for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.</span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-3556a084-672a-1fb5-c4ef-a5603eb8ea76"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></span></div>

Jeff Shares Some Amazing Work by Caesar Tattoo

Last Sunday, I met a guy named Jeff at my local laundromat, where I happen to meet a lot of the contributors to Tattoosday, it seems. Jeff h...

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Five Years Gone: I Still Miss You, Tom

<div class="tr_bq">When Tattoosday was but a wee little blog, with big hopes and dreams, one of the early champions and supporters was my friend, Tom.</div><br />Five years ago today, he died suddenly and tragically. I still miss him.<br /><br />Although the memories fade, his spirit still lives on in the pages of Tattoosday.<br /><br />That said, I share this post, from 2007, featuring my friend Tom's tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIW43Fjy0oB45TvMN68U8XLtqBTUS1EZEXsoujeNfx96csFKEwJbbqTa27eNsBKQ_MQGmPvhs4lPZh5ENtNPlzO6VnV3xbFk7yAjphzwRRog2H1k4WhNtmLyDVt8pqckA7z2HisAFXA4Z/s1600-h/100_5069.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109098099137111794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIW43Fjy0oB45TvMN68U8XLtqBTUS1EZEXsoujeNfx96csFKEwJbbqTa27eNsBKQ_MQGmPvhs4lPZh5ENtNPlzO6VnV3xbFk7yAjphzwRRog2H1k4WhNtmLyDVt8pqckA7z2HisAFXA4Z/s400/100_5069.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><blockquote><br />"This is the sole tattoo of my friend and co-worker, Tom.</blockquote><blockquote>Tom designed and drew the art upon which this tattoo was based.</blockquote><blockquote>The Reaper is posed on Tom's biceps/deltoid and has resided there since 1984, when its host was a young lad of eighteen. </blockquote><blockquote>This is Tom's only tattoo and he has no plans to get more. He is proud of the fact that, because he designed it and because he then tore up the original design, it is a one-of-a-kind piece. He said that it was very painful because of the amount of black ink that went into it.</blockquote><blockquote>The tattoo was inked by Dean at <a href="http://www.lolastattoos.com/">Lola's Tattoos</a>, then in <a href="http://www.cliffsideparkonline.com/">Cliffside Park</a>, but now in <a href="http://www.bogota.nj.us/">Bogota, New Jersey</a>. Tom got this tattoo "because it was cool," although the tattooer tried to convince him not to get it because it was "too mean" for him. Twenty-three years later, Tom says he has no regrets about his ink.</blockquote><blockquote>Thanks, Tom!"</blockquote><br />Last night, on the eve of this somber anniversary, my Google Play shuffle served up the following song, which I had the pleasure of seeing live with Tom at Jones Beach just a few months before he died:<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ag6rRnCQUMk" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />Thinking of you, Tom, I still miss you, and Tattoosday misses you too.

Five Years Gone: I Still Miss You, Tom

When Tattoosday was but a wee little blog, with big hopes and dreams, one of the early champions and supporters was my friend, Tom. Five yea...

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Darcy Shares Some Words of Wisdom

This fall, I found myself in a new neighborhood during the days, down on Broad Street. One of the new people in my life, Darcy, is an employee of a local coffee and pastry shop. I noticed she had some ink on her inner wrists, and one day, after her shift, she let me take this photo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUdtoThLNk2K7PGT3_44TP__Kv3AT3fimHVpuVwgz39pV1xZmqoVilFNek-Iwl6MYZpFNaWOXuOC-LdL7yX3USFtzU1lDctaZV_fWL9xbch8XNJlOKIM7FHvkM7kSdd1wH06RMBvPy5I/s1600/90pct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUdtoThLNk2K7PGT3_44TP__Kv3AT3fimHVpuVwgz39pV1xZmqoVilFNek-Iwl6MYZpFNaWOXuOC-LdL7yX3USFtzU1lDctaZV_fWL9xbch8XNJlOKIM7FHvkM7kSdd1wH06RMBvPy5I/s640/90pct.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Her wrists state "90% Work - 10% Talent."<br /><br />Darcy explains:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"I had a teacher ... his recipe for success was that, if you work at anything, you can become good. It's your talent that will make you great. You can't rely on your talent alone - talent's only 10% of that equation."</blockquote>She got this at a vegan tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon called <a href="http://scapegoattattoo.com/">Scapegoat Tattoo</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Darcy for sharing these words of wisdom with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.</span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-4558f9a7-1f12-4e68-b6d8-fc25a20a76b2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></span></div>

Darcy Shares Some Words of Wisdom

This fall, I found myself in a new neighborhood during the days, down on Broad Street. One of the new people in my life, Darcy, is an employ...

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