Rant #3,659: Tattoo You

Yesterday, I had a couple of stories to edit for work.

One came my way in the late morning, the other in late afternoon.

The second one spoke about a new tattoo parlor that was opening on the Hickam AB, Hawaii, military installation, the first such business that the Army & Air Force Exchange Service opened on a Pacific Region base.

Tattoos have always been a big thing in the military, and certainly during the past 20 years, it has become equally a trendy thing in the civilian world.

So to cash in on this popularity--and to try to keep this business regulated and on base-- during the past couple of years, more and more tattoo parlors have opened on militsry bases.

Yes, it is a money thing--to keep the money spent on tattoos on base, to be funneled back into the military community--but it is also a health thing.

Tattoo parlors off base are often unregulated, and there are health concerns related to the ink offered by these places.

When a tattoo parlor is on base, not only is the money kept on base, but certain, very stringent health regulations are set up, in this case, by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service and the Air Force, and they must be met to the letter.

(Although it is not spoken about in the current time, the military also used to run their own brothels for the very same reasons, including health reasons.)

And it also allows the military to keep an eye on what tattoos are being put on arms, legs, and elsewhere on the body.

And by the way, these parlors are not just open to service members.

These shops are also open to the entire military community, as long as they are over 18 years of age.

At one time, the stereotyped "Drunken Sailors" were the only ones getting tattoos--

But now, they have gone mainstream, and everyone gets them.

Personally, I don't get tattoos.

I don't know why anyone would want to put pictures on their bodies, ruining God's perfect creation, but that is just me.

And women ... don't get me started.

And, of course, Jews are not supposed to get tattoos; we are supposed to leave this earth the way we came in, which tattoos would not allow.

Also, during World War II, Jews who were rounded up and put in concentration camps--simply because of their religion--were often marked by the Nazis with tattoos of numbers and names.

But this is 2025, not 1945, and plenty of Jews have tattoos all over their bodies.

Some of my nephews, and my daughter, have them, so that thinking is pretty much out the window.

I don't get tattoos ...

But if you are of age, it is your skin, your body, and if you want to mark it up, that is your right.

I actually was told that I have a tattoo--

But it is a medical tattoo, inscribed in my body when I had my gall bladder removed nearly 18 years ago.

So that really doesn't count, not like putting "Mother" across your chest, or something akin to that.

So service members get tattoos, your next door neighbor gets them, and your kid's teacher gets them.

There is no stigma to doing this anymore, unless the ink crosses the line ... and I don't think I have to tell you what that line is.

So that was one of the stories I worked on yesterday, and it left an indelible, but not visual, mark on me.

How does one get rid of a tattoo thst they don't want anymore?

Me, this mark on me disappears when I move on to the next story--

But if you want to remove your old girlfriend or boyfriend's name from your body, well ...

How do you do it?

The pain ... the pain ... .