Red Dragon Tattoo Tim Carter
I'm about to board passengers for the trip from Meredith, NH to Weirs Beach. My, what a handsome tattoo, Mr. Conductor! Photo credit: Theresa Drury
"Oh, I see you've got some fresh ink," uttered my youngest daughter's very good friend Andrea as she admired, I think, my tattoo.
Her outburst of scoffing laughter telegraphed immediately that she was mocking my gorgeous temporary red dragon tattoo. My sarcasm meter obviously was on the fritz. But it was all in good fun. She wasn't being mean.
Red Dragon Tattoo Fools Many But Not All
I had applied it two days earlier to try to blend in with the crowds that would be riding the train back and forth between Meredith, NH and the Weirs. It's Bike Week in Laconia and tens of thousands of people with real ink injected into their skin would be in the area sporting their body art.
Andrea and my daughter Kelly had just boarded my train and were on their way to see what was going on down at Weirs Beach on Saturday night, June 20, 2015. Read more on this story in my June 23, 2015 and August 16, 2015 Newsletter.
I've applied this temporary tattoo lots of times over the past few years. I feel it's pretty handsome, but anyone who knows anything about tattoos realizes, upon close inspection, that it's just not real.
There it is! The red dragon! Photo credit: Theresa Drury
Temporary tattoos look horrible just after they're applied. They have a very shiny high-gloss appearance. But that dulls down after 24-48 hours. The trick is to not rub the tattoo with a towel. If you abrade your skin, you'll ruin the thin acrylic coating. Just pat it dry after a shower.
From five or ten feet away, you'll fool most people. Those who have real tattoos will think you're a baby and a poser since you don't have what it takes to commit to a real tattoo.
Oh well, it's still fun and quite a few people look at it.
CLICK HERE to buy an assortment of red dragon tattoos and many other designs.
What I like about having the tattoo is the prejudicial looks you'll get from some people who have known you, but never seen you without long sleeves on. I often do it in social situations to just sort of get a rise out of acquaintances.
You can see their eyes taking rapid-fire glances down at the shocking site as they think I'd NEVER have a tattoo. You can absolutely have some fun with them.
The social stigma of tattoos still is powerful, but rapidly fading, and many people pigeonhole people with visible ink into a different subset.
For me, I feel they're colorful and some tattoo artists produce stunning works of body art.
Lots of people on the train had real ones, but not me.
I do not like permanent tattoos on anyone for any reason. Temporary tattoos are okay because they are...uh....temporary. I hope your tattoo is temporary. If not, enjoy your permanent fashion statement.
Some religions prohibit tattoos and piercings. They define it as body mutilation. I am not one of those people. My generation would be sent to reform school if we came home sporting a tat.
Times change. Tats are now mainstream and if you are under 30 and don't have at least one, no one will associate with you. That's life.
Hey Tim! You look like you trimmed off a few kilos in that picture!
Phil,
Why yes I have! I'm on my way down to what I weighed in college. I've lost about 15 pounds in the past five weeks. All I've done is cut about 90% of the sugar out of my diet and started to really watch carbohydrates like potatoes and bread. I now eat Joseph's brand pita bread that has half the carbs of a regular slice of bread. The sugar is the killer. You have to look at ingredients of things because they put sugar in just about everything. Cut out sugar and magic happens.
Add an exercise routine and watch was really happens!
nice ink,or maybe since it's a temp,nice pencil lead.There is no way I'd get one cause I hate.......needles
Knowing what you do for a living, I would have glanced quickly and dismissed it as a paint splash that didn't wipe off.
Now about those fireworks, Being on a lake, I would think they would aim them out to the water. My parents had a cottage down the Cape and we used to shoot them over the sea and try to get them to go off as close to the water as we could. Some went off under water, sounds weird. But we saved most of them for "Christmas Display" and shoot them off in the snow after the first big storm.
Tim, although I tried to never give prejudicial looks, I have to admit that I used to seriously wonder about people sporting tats. Then my son made a documentary called Inkflow ( https://vimeo.com/114591284 ) that really opened my mind. The tattoo parlor owner, tattoo artists, and customers in the video all seem to be normal people who have their act together. I'm biased (since it's my son's work) but it's really an eye-opening 11 minute video.
Congrats Tim on cutting out sugar from your diet! You are on a good start to excellent health. There are more steps to good health to consider.
You are still thinking about bread though. Have you eliminated all white foods from your daily diet? Have you transgressed yet to daily green smoothies consisting of greens, veggies, and a limited amount of fruits whizzed in your Vita-Mix? Are you working on destroying all the free radicals with a super-powerful antioxidant such as Pycnogenol or French Maritime Pine Bark Extract?
Re the tats? I just wonder what those tats will look like when folks are no longer in their teens, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. Will they still look cool? Will they look dated? Scripture does say tats do mutilate the body. Will scientists find out eons from now that the inks used actually poisoned the body?
Just some thoughts. Glad what you used was a temporary tattoo.
I think "scripture" mutilates the mind and the heart, but that's just me. I also came from the generation which was taught to frown on tattoos, but I have learned to accept them. I thought about getting a small tattoo in my 20's, but I didn't do it because I thought it would look tacky when I was in my 60's and my skin was wrinkly. I am in my 70's now and my skin isn't too bad. Should have had it done.
Susan,
What are you waiting for? Go get one done NOW!!!! It can be discrete and only you know it's there!
Nice picture Tim
I belong to growyoungfitness.com. I found it on facebook. Trying to get my husband interested. I love it because you do it at home when you want. Great exercises for seniors. Just came back from FL where we bought a condo (gently used). Going back down for the month of April in a couple weeks. My stain solver definitely going with me for bathroom shower stall and tub in the other bath. Already get newsletter. Love it