Tattoosday Goes to L.A.: Alisonna Shares a Little Hawai'i at LAX

Despite the fact that my flight was boarding, I was at the next gate over, talking to Alisonna.<br /><br />My trip to Los Angeles was pretty much over, but I spotted Alisonna's foot and couldn't resist one last interview. Having been raised in Honolulu, this tattoo was an added bonus:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmKBf1bq42R-HWcbv1w6og6s91CwfziySRZw4soVpJjMmjKDNesgw-f4KVAEmETJ3tptlNDbcwL7mr7ZFARcJbR9XNIJvcx-5BK3MBMerS08TtPlTYoTkG7dmfxb2Rin3HNx6muuWr5s/s774/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmKBf1bq42R-HWcbv1w6og6s91CwfziySRZw4soVpJjMmjKDNesgw-f4KVAEmETJ3tptlNDbcwL7mr7ZFARcJbR9XNIJvcx-5BK3MBMerS08TtPlTYoTkG7dmfxb2Rin3HNx6muuWr5s/s640/photo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Despite my initial guess that this was a gecko, Alisonna clarified:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Have you ever heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aumakua">ʻaumākua</a>? It's a family guardian. Hawaiians believe in family guardians ... there's multiples, like geckos, sharks, turtles ... Gecko is mine, and so I decided to put it on my foot, on me left side, actually because in Hawaiian culture, your left side is your man side and your right side is your woman side ... the two orchids are for my ... parents, and this right here, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauhala">lauhala</a> [the curved fragment above the two orchids] is for the family."</blockquote>She credited the work to an artist called "Nae" who had worked at <a href="http://www.808tattoo.com/">808 Tattoo Studio</a> in Kāneʻohe, Hawai'i.<br /><br />A warm <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalo_(word)">mahalo</a> to Alisonna for sharing her guardian tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><b id="internal-source-marker_0.18962762784212828" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; 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/"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; 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></b>

Tattoosday Goes to L.A.: Alisonna Shares a Little Hawai'i at LAX

Despite the fact that my flight was boarding, I was at the next gate over, talking to Alisonna. My trip to Los Angeles was pretty much over,...

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Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Reston's Expansive Ink

I've alluded, in previous posts, to a trip to <a href="http://www.alamoanacenter.com/">Ala Moana Center</a>, during which I was astounded by the amount of tattoos I saw, much more than I recall seeing on my previous trip, five years ago.<br /><br />I was in the expansive food court section of the complex when I met Reston and his uncle. I was first intrigued by the work on his left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsR9NRBaMhuG0CGx3vk9GdyF8F2Wjyp9iHxtB6OynLmiRzNJzc5-UEhOTzExYuU8KCdkzzQd2zIdLxJFatv-EGWfNNgiHO7fkCudghe24ahThQwz5eACbCbKDrmLpq4H1uRcjdkPC/s1600/Reston+Arm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsR9NRBaMhuG0CGx3vk9GdyF8F2Wjyp9iHxtB6OynLmiRzNJzc5-UEhOTzExYuU8KCdkzzQd2zIdLxJFatv-EGWfNNgiHO7fkCudghe24ahThQwz5eACbCbKDrmLpq4H1uRcjdkPC/s640/Reston+Arm.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />but then, in one of those rare Tattoosday moments in which I see much more than I anticipated, his uncle convinced Reston to show me his back, which revealed this wonderful work:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwN2PgUoDwXlSJYP83vAQXmqbp_iwQWO3GHZWY0YjtXhC2ZZUv7xLs2sNy_dE0r5o0jCp1VG2Rwomv_tSUS7GVnuSblrHxULCSanMKTsilZyK5vc43onCO-mqAei__ItbsiFX-Ih6/s1600/Reston+Back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwN2PgUoDwXlSJYP83vAQXmqbp_iwQWO3GHZWY0YjtXhC2ZZUv7xLs2sNy_dE0r5o0jCp1VG2Rwomv_tSUS7GVnuSblrHxULCSanMKTsilZyK5vc43onCO-mqAei__ItbsiFX-Ih6/s400/Reston+Back.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><br />For Reston, his tattoos are tributes to his heritage. The large <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha">Buddha</a> on his back acknowledges the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism">Buddhist</a> faith that can be found on his father's side of the family. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki">tiki</a> and tribal patterns are in honor of his mother's Pacific Islander lineage. This is apparent from the merging of the two styles (and the names "mom" and "dad" at the top of his back:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVjH2gfnrwlt83C7TGgBOfyKlUb0EOu7g62Yv4JxVL5vDlmIqN-IFPV6j47BgcQwCmIhoPQ1KWpuAFuHmY6QK9_sPToqBHHjCb2Gl9JBjjwA1Q8sIyq6T72S9PME1sA4wyn2NhhmV/s1600/Reston+back+-+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVjH2gfnrwlt83C7TGgBOfyKlUb0EOu7g62Yv4JxVL5vDlmIqN-IFPV6j47BgcQwCmIhoPQ1KWpuAFuHmY6QK9_sPToqBHHjCb2Gl9JBjjwA1Q8sIyq6T72S9PME1sA4wyn2NhhmV/s400/Reston+back+-+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In addition, Reston shared this cool lizard on his left shoulder:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCMkiEScIMqfetf4OJKi6vQTVP6eqWKW1nBj3CLNT7I7QtqLIQBkRaPm0Z8w9zIJG1ymlJgAQ3InDzRzUwyoNiFZbF8XuZgMNXI7xnnb5ZTy-IoPgS79k9tZWwwku9s2wLc_fa_H9/s1600/Reston+Shoulder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCMkiEScIMqfetf4OJKi6vQTVP6eqWKW1nBj3CLNT7I7QtqLIQBkRaPm0Z8w9zIJG1ymlJgAQ3InDzRzUwyoNiFZbF8XuZgMNXI7xnnb5ZTy-IoPgS79k9tZWwwku9s2wLc_fa_H9/s400/Reston+Shoulder.jpg" width="400" /></a>Actually, in Hawaiian tattoo styles, this is referred to more specifically as a <i><b>mo'o</b></i>, which can be defined (source <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/kona/historyg.htm">here</a>) as a "spirit guardian (lizard) that protects a resource, such as a fishpond, from overuse and other abuse". Mo'o are also referred to as geckos.<br /><br />There's a lot going on with Reston's personal canvas, but you can see the geographic shapes of the <i>mo'o</i> design jumping off the skin.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRh_L_tEjqgQJqJB3KLLsMNFtpLWZK6zz98_3YTqw60VP7AROH4NoQO4RHET5rBrrRq263hFPNuxQugei-A7v79SuGUVEutdInyd6ZCMpug5DUVuctxNkWSWS9idQLlsYjtcfjPng0/s1600/Reston+Shoulder+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRh_L_tEjqgQJqJB3KLLsMNFtpLWZK6zz98_3YTqw60VP7AROH4NoQO4RHET5rBrrRq263hFPNuxQugei-A7v79SuGUVEutdInyd6ZCMpug5DUVuctxNkWSWS9idQLlsYjtcfjPng0/s400/Reston+Shoulder+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />  All the work was done in California. The Buddha back piece was inked by <a href="http://www.12monkeystattoos.com/jon-highland.html">Jon Highland</a>, owner of <a href="http://www.12monkeystattoos.com/">12 Monkeys Tattoo</a> in Tracy, California. The majority of the tribal/Polynesian work was tattooed by <a href="http://www.hbtat2.com/orly/">Orly</a> at <a href="http://www.hbtat2.com/">Humble Beginnings Tattoo Studio</a> in San Jose.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMgHSWwSO4pKjh4Nto9xFLoRME-c8dZGTJQdhDa34T7wONWRnrMF5sXEOYpHPHSVKwBSyxrtAQZ7dJpOU_zdcnoVScY_s4-bR3zfzGGlTLAicmesOQuFmt9rNVreAHaHdps3FTCnS/s1600/Reston+Arm+-+Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMgHSWwSO4pKjh4Nto9xFLoRME-c8dZGTJQdhDa34T7wONWRnrMF5sXEOYpHPHSVKwBSyxrtAQZ7dJpOU_zdcnoVScY_s4-bR3zfzGGlTLAicmesOQuFmt9rNVreAHaHdps3FTCnS/s640/Reston+Arm+-+Detail.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />A hearty mahalo to Reston for being bold enough to remove his shirt in the Ala Moana food court so we could all get to better appreciate his ink. We here at Tattoosday thank you for your contributions to the site!

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Reston's Expansive Ink

I've alluded, in previous posts, to a trip to Ala Moana Center , during which I was astounded by the amount of tattoos I saw, much more ...

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Tattoosday #3: BillyBlog Pulls a "Tat Trick"

Welcome to the third installment of "Tattoosday". They get better with age. First a quick recap of the week:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/7</span>: Interesting tidbit came in the form of a friend (Jill) sending me over to <a href="http://absolutetrygve.blogspot.com/">this blog</a>, more specifically <a href="http://absolutetrygve.blogspot.com/2007/07/oy-burning-off-tattoos-not-this-one.html">this post</a> about the good and bad in a tattoo experience. Interesting read. I posted a comment inviting her to contribute to Tattoosday, if she wanted.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/10: </span>Rain in the forecast all day. Not the best for tattoo-spotting. In fact, by the end of the day, I realize that this little venture, difficult now, will be next to impossible once the mercury drops below me 60 degrees, 24-7.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/12: </span>Last Sunday was good to me so I had hope today. At the laundromat, a woman who works at the local bank and who I see occasionally at the laundromat, was sporting a nifty ankle tattoo. Jolee even spotted it and suggested I ask her. Despite many opportunities, I failed to ask. Later in the afternoon, I ran into her again down the block and this time asked her, finally, if she'd be interested in the project. She seemed receptive to the idea and said she'd let me know next time she saw me. She indicated she had designed the piece around her ankle herself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/13:</span> (7:00 A.M.) I have decided that today will be the day. I will leave at lunch and find a cool tattoo. I will rely on the students of the <a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/html/dynamic.html">Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)</a> to supply me with the body art. Let's see if I can do it.<br /><br />[Later that day....]<br /><br />Ok, BillyBlog-ience, enough of my bellyaching. I just went out, under the deadline, and snagged a tat-trick (I love coining new words). I got not one, not two, but <span style="font-weight: bold;">three </span>subjects in less than sixty minutes (and managed to run some errands in the process.<br /><br />I was walking back from the bank on West 27th Street when I passed a guy standing in the doorway with <span style="font-style: italic;">tons</span> of tattoos. He had a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun">King Tut</a> on his right forearm. I walked past him and then said to myself that he looked pretty cool. I ambled up and said, "Hey, mind if I ask you about your tattoos?" He hesitated for maybe a split second and then said sure. I explained the concept of tattoosday to him and asked if I could take a picture of one of his tattoos. He said sure, and selected the one on his left leg.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wJyYSvXRl4YsKkqWheg9coQetqvZyzzBEkLEE8GUMGbXGgJpoL_uSUJqKmVdrOoIhRN2Tcl_cuhOAyfexGXMjlGARc-NlPzGUMZ6NIm9lAGDrRRpB3NaovGBhGqKLUGdwBHqBIXjOmY/s1600-h/100_4687.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343191044231970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wJyYSvXRl4YsKkqWheg9coQetqvZyzzBEkLEE8GUMGbXGgJpoL_uSUJqKmVdrOoIhRN2Tcl_cuhOAyfexGXMjlGARc-NlPzGUMZ6NIm9lAGDrRRpB3NaovGBhGqKLUGdwBHqBIXjOmY/s400/100_4687.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />He selected that one because it represented New York City and is one of his more recent pieces. It reads "Too Tough To Die," features a skull, and the New York skyline peeking up out of his sock.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VLk-WFQpjLSd74iixcjtnyI5tavG07KD2Ct5KnFuviiMw83U7V56GQ-LQSTlExfxHH2M2oKIpCAyOZn0-9IOrVlaJ_YLEg4ZldhUbwREfD5UOcFwB-BDq3b94vZAd3OPym-a_D5wnKU/s1600-h/100_4688.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343307008348978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VLk-WFQpjLSd74iixcjtnyI5tavG07KD2Ct5KnFuviiMw83U7V56GQ-LQSTlExfxHH2M2oKIpCAyOZn0-9IOrVlaJ_YLEg4ZldhUbwREfD5UOcFwB-BDq3b94vZAd3OPym-a_D5wnKU/s400/100_4688.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />I asked him how many tattoos he had and he didn't know. He has two full sleeves, tats on both legs, and he said on his chest and back as well. The tattoo I photographed, he said was an homage to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramones">the Ramones</a>, from their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Tough_to_Die">1984 album of the same name</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9EDpUrL_uBHRIWDsXQdeZqT35bCJQO0Tdt7GAaBqFoak4q-7SPPdgPTv7Yu6FNX7iyFk_mt9EPMT7H-Jm2KTi8XsRF4aQWB47tiGfxl8scj-7_YvP_zBl_yFuPlZJCeTrDQ9fd51IyM/s1600-h/Too_Tough_to_Die.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098235773912158994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9EDpUrL_uBHRIWDsXQdeZqT35bCJQO0Tdt7GAaBqFoak4q-7SPPdgPTv7Yu6FNX7iyFk_mt9EPMT7H-Jm2KTi8XsRF4aQWB47tiGfxl8scj-7_YvP_zBl_yFuPlZJCeTrDQ9fd51IyM/s400/Too_Tough_to_Die.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />He gave his name as "Tops," and although he didn't disclose more about where he had the art done, he did look at one of the previous tattoosday posts and said he knew the owner of <a href="http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/32900304/new_york_ny/new_york_hardcore_tattoos.html">New York Hardcore Tattoos</a>.<br /><br />Well I was pretty proud of myself for finally jumping in the pool. Even though I didn't know James from last week, we had seen each other around and were familiar with one another. Tops was the first complete and utter stranger I approached. I was proud of myself for finally getting someone for Tattoosday.<br /><br />Perhaps because the pressure was off, I walked with a lighter load. I headed back to 7th Avenue and decided to walk through F.I.T. over to 8th Avenue. Perhaps I would encounter some artistic student who would be approachable.<br /><br />Sure enough, halfway down the block I saw a young lady approaching with two tattooed arms. I used the same approach, and mentioned BillyBlog. She gently kidded (I think gently, and I think she was kidding) about me asking her to be on my "nerdy blog". I have to remind myself that I am forty and your average F.I.T. student is in their early 20s, at the oldest.<br /><br />Anyway, Jackie Alvo didn't mind giving me her real name, nor did she mind letting me snap shots of both arms. I found some of her design work <a href="http://jackieovla.deviantart.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />I noticed the cherry blossoms on her left arm first and she indicated that all her work was done on Long island because that's where "all the best artists are".<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFkGg0M14x2VVLQd3vJvnlKRWk1l2o2UYTZupPfUkP9Ya-J32B9MZrO4LGhZZxBh__eeD8O1xxwOQhG_wtKIb-MF9rKw4flLs-EPOHnJPu9WqBsz8ibKqA4c1ETaQVRNMOp7_M9ReDMU/s1600-h/cropped+cbs.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343762274882418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFkGg0M14x2VVLQd3vJvnlKRWk1l2o2UYTZupPfUkP9Ya-J32B9MZrO4LGhZZxBh__eeD8O1xxwOQhG_wtKIb-MF9rKw4flLs-EPOHnJPu9WqBsz8ibKqA4c1ETaQVRNMOp7_M9ReDMU/s400/cropped+cbs.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkmbmzKGiimDqPPU1CnEiXRMWcd_45otRuTMQf_MoVMYFVPpsheh6U4QdmPKywOfogvSOJUXVybO05hnWwNvVhoB9bTFzYr-FPdOSIPK8DW3J_IFO0yx9hVNBwU4e7_UJLyzGUF0k56E/s1600-h/detail+cherry+blossom.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098344067217560450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkmbmzKGiimDqPPU1CnEiXRMWcd_45otRuTMQf_MoVMYFVPpsheh6U4QdmPKywOfogvSOJUXVybO05hnWwNvVhoB9bTFzYr-FPdOSIPK8DW3J_IFO0yx9hVNBwU4e7_UJLyzGUF0k56E/s400/detail+cherry+blossom.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Her right arm, she joked, had to have a fashion theme, because she was at F.I.T. As cool as her left arm was, the dressmaker's form and other aspects were highly original and quite impressive. She let me know that her work was done at <a href="http://timmytattoo.com/">Timmy Tattoo</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_%28CDP%29,_New_York">Huntington, NY</a> (on MySpace <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2063897">here</a>).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfkIWw3cDVnSqpRBSAPRl-XSuynFZfjd9V2NaGxeo4agauhfmD1CAd_hdwqRj066G-MukHlbqaSekZsM-5pQPZ99ueoCDg1e7_DwRZd2o-7VtE3aL0SwwZKAQxKyve_oxyCKUbKv701A/s1600-h/100_4690.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343534641615698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfkIWw3cDVnSqpRBSAPRl-XSuynFZfjd9V2NaGxeo4agauhfmD1CAd_hdwqRj066G-MukHlbqaSekZsM-5pQPZ99ueoCDg1e7_DwRZd2o-7VtE3aL0SwwZKAQxKyve_oxyCKUbKv701A/s400/100_4690.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />I thank her for her contribution and later saw her zip away on a bright metallic blue <a href="http://www.vespausa.com/">Vespa </a>scooter.<br /><br />The third tattoo was a bit of a surprise. I was in the plaza in front of the <a href="http://www.bordersstores.com/index.jsp">Borders</a> at <a href="http://www.thegarden.com/index.jsp">Madison Square Garden</a> when I saw a woman with the following gecko tattoo above her left ankle.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg2sFF8nUPAxhcIoQo1dA7Dj3G1UKt7vuwFuUjPx892jnsm_qFkTIDf5vQZ6emlPBqyr9uu9_8EWPkLGgUHNGl8znXhxjsTRDGpPTswV-5suBi0nmXy7rFVsMj-x_vDFF1MO7lEpF7aA/s1600-h/100_4691.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343676375536482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg2sFF8nUPAxhcIoQo1dA7Dj3G1UKt7vuwFuUjPx892jnsm_qFkTIDf5vQZ6emlPBqyr9uu9_8EWPkLGgUHNGl8znXhxjsTRDGpPTswV-5suBi0nmXy7rFVsMj-x_vDFF1MO7lEpF7aA/s400/100_4691.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />She preferred to remain anonymous, but she is the first tourist tattoo on BillyBlog. The gecko design, which she searched for for years, has no specific significance. She just wanted a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko">gecko </a>tattoo. The piece was inked at <a href="http://www.localspadir.com/resource/39901.html">Atomic Buddha Tattoos</a> in <a href="http://www.greeleygov.com/default.aspx">Greeley, Colorado</a>, from which our tourist hailed. Well, Colorado for sure, not necessarily Greeley.<br /><br />We talked about geckoes a bit, especially the fact that, growing up in Hawai'i, I had them in and out of the homes I lived in. Shayna, coincidentally, just got a rubber gecko from a science museum last week. It went through the laundry on Sunday and she flung it at the ceiling last night and it stayed there until I pulled it down.<br /><br />Thanks to the folks who let me take the pictures. Tops, I don't think, will be checking out the blog, but Jackie said she'd google BillyBlog and I gave a printout to our friend from Colorado. Please, feel free to add comments, questions, anecdotes, whatever. Or e-mail me if I need to clarify or edit any of the facts from my brief encounters with you.

Tattoosday #3: BillyBlog Pulls a "Tat Trick"

Welcome to the third installment of "Tattoosday". They get better with age. First a quick recap of the week: 8/7 : Interesting tid...

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