3rd Avenue Festival, Bay Ridge, Part 4

While my kids were bouncing around in the Moon Bounce-a-rama, a woman named Helen approached and her child joined my girls in their attempts to defy gravity.<br /><br />Helen had this awesome tattoo on her right arm:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO7h5x3rsibaseBMAOF7VXR-yl3-aJec2z73npQafkGffByV8vuPJy3cFuc9tVmAeS3WD8eaoFJ2JUghFou73ZAZirJmDqvKgQn9QwHqr_uu1vkPDeuRWPfqfYjuOb8LOsVPTEAjiUA3x/s1600-h/100_5282.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116214589696710610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO7h5x3rsibaseBMAOF7VXR-yl3-aJec2z73npQafkGffByV8vuPJy3cFuc9tVmAeS3WD8eaoFJ2JUghFou73ZAZirJmDqvKgQn9QwHqr_uu1vkPDeuRWPfqfYjuOb8LOsVPTEAjiUA3x/s400/100_5282.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Helen explained it: The wolf, combined with the female symbol, and the letter A, or alpha, combined to represent that she is the alpha female in her family.<br /><br />She had this tattoo done by the artist Dan Brown at the <a href="http://members.aol.com/RobFAM10/Madhatters.html">Mad Hatter's Tea Party</a>, a tattoo and arts convention in Maine.<br /><br />The wolf was inspired by a woodcutting. She added the symbols for the alpha female. Her husband was the alpha male, but he sadly passed away <del>two</del> six years ago.<br /><br />I then asked about her left arm, which had the following piece:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkaH4TQ0pRLXpHaKNniBxzKosfWw3-RFmmd_LoiqbJzxF9zoOtPRtrbfLddRM453xsrzTpPOfkKQaVu0AwBx8KnQXwd7AesYtTuKiOFSwr0jZqqyCRk0T2t_5lntKe-y2pI5GVbMHXtpd/s1600-h/100_5281.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116214100070438850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkaH4TQ0pRLXpHaKNniBxzKosfWw3-RFmmd_LoiqbJzxF9zoOtPRtrbfLddRM453xsrzTpPOfkKQaVu0AwBx8KnQXwd7AesYtTuKiOFSwr0jZqqyCRk0T2t_5lntKe-y2pI5GVbMHXtpd/s400/100_5281.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />This is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi">St. Francis</a>, patron saint of the animals. The cat is present because Helen rescues cats, and currently has ten (10!) living with her. She credited <a href="http://www.movingpicturesstudio.com/lynn/lynn07.htm">Lynn Dulaney</a> as the artists of this tattoo, also done at the Mad Hatter's Tea party. In fact, she advised me, all of her work gets done at Mad Hatter's.<br /><br />I must have raised my eyebrows, as Helen appeared to have only these two tattoos. She revealed that she had 11 tattoos in all, not typical for a school teacher from Queens. These two were the only ones visible, and, had she been wearing a shirt other than a sleeveless one, you'd have thought she looked the part of a tattoo-less educator. She acknowledged that some times its best not to be seen as having tattoos by the students and/or parents. Although if one of my kids' teachers had tattoos, the family would think it was cool.<br /><br />Thanks to Helen for talking with me and sharing her tattoo stories here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update</span>: After Helen posted her comment below, I updated Lynn's name with the correct spelling and linked her page at <a href="http://www.movingpicturesstudio.com/index.htm">Moving Pictures Studio</a>, in Wooster, Ohio. Also, I thought it would be nice to link <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E2D91631F933A2575AC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=4">the page from the <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> "Portraits of Grief"</a> with the blurb Helen's husband Liam. Helen, if you do not wish to have me link this, please let me know and I will remove it. Liam's brief portrait is at the bottom of the page and rolls over to the next.

3rd Avenue Festival, Bay Ridge, Part 4

While my kids were bouncing around in the Moon Bounce-a-rama, a woman named Helen approached and her child joined my girls in their attempts...

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