BIRD TATTOO
At age 45 I got my first and last tattoo. People tend to collect them like stickers. It used to be unique to have one. Now it’s more uncommon to not have any. I’m determined to be unusual in a way that doesn’t register as abnormal, so I have just one and will never get another. I hadn’t decided what to get, so I made an appointment which would provide a deadline. Finley had drawn a picture from an American Folk art book on my arm a year before and I liked it, so I brought in the book for the consultation. Once I showed him the design he asked if there were other designs in the book. That was pretty subtle. Then he asked why I picked this one. I said I’d always wanted a tattoo but could never settle on anything because I’d find something I loved and then didn’t like it as much later on. “I don’t love this one now, so I’m not going to lose interest over time.” When I had my most recent MRI, the woman getting me ready to go into the machine asked me why I had a bird tattoo. I said ...
