Grandma Says Tattoo’s Are For Sailors and Prostitutes...
“My Grandma Says....Tattoos are for sailors and prostitutes”.....This was unfortunately the thought process for MANY MANY DECADES....I wonder what nice ‘God fearing’ person came up with this saying?
My younger brother has been writing books now for the past few years (Poetry/Novels)....and I always thought it was such a great outlet for him mentally.
http://www.jandrewthomas.com/
Much like him, I’ve always enjoyed putting my thoughts down into essay form and sharing them with others...with a great amount of transparency....but never really taking the time to do anything ‘formal’ but post on Facebook, run a personal website about my jiu-jitsu journey (for many years) and blogging. Just recently, I’ve decided to set a goal for myself to generate an original non-fiction book about tattoo’s (in a sense). A novel based on the true stories of other adults who have acquired one or more pieces of body art at some point in their life. I’ll be attempting to capture each individuals raw narrative using their personal recollection about a “back story”.
The idea for this book came from a vivid childhood memory. It was sometime in the late 70′s when my dad decided to get his first tattoo...His father’s immediate response was “Now you are a marked man for life! What if you rob a bank???...They’ll be able to identify you” (and he wasn’t trying to be jovial or humorous with his remark)....and that statement always stuck with me (perplexed me really). So I decided I would write a book with the premise....”What is the mindset of a marked man?” Why is it that some people get SO MANY....and some people get none. Then there are others that just get one. I’m looking for stories from different people of all ages and various walks of life who will volunteer to be interviewed about whatever incident/episode they feel impacted them the most and how it affected their decisions (now and then).....what is their thought process???....Is there any connection with the body art that they have or no connection at all? along with pictures of their tattoos (old and new).
I realize that *Not just anyone can do this.. It takes a strong person to “Face that fear of dragging up old memories” and exposing it for everyone to see or hear......and some people might feel vulnerable if they aren’t use to being transparent about what they might consider to be ‘secrets’....but it can be very empowering and usually extremely helpful to others who might have a similar circumstance.
*As a side note....I personally see a lot of character and ‘life lived’ in an old tattoo....so that’s VERY INTERESTING (and inspiring)!
If you would like to share your story for my book please email me at [email protected] for details! Participants must be 18 years and older. A waiver must be completed. Not all interviews need to be done in person. So Pass this on to anyone you think might be interested near and far!
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Stories and pictures contributed DO NOT require your name to be attached to it in the actual book. Instead, "anonymous submission" can be used in place of that if you would like your identity to remain confidential to the public!**
This is a short promo video about how I came up with this crazy idea....I do plan on developing more video’s as my book begins to progress. Stay tuned.