Thank you, and back at you. 🖤 Anxiety is high right now, which I know isn’t anything new for most of us, but I’m just trying to do my social distancing duty while still having to go into work. Luckily we have a huge building, and without the public inside of it, staff can pretty easily stay out of each other’s way.
Tattoos have been tradition in the Navy for a very long time, and are fairly commonplace throughout the military if you know where to look. When he first enlisted, Monty didn’t really seem like a tattoos kind of guy; he was quiet, kept mostly to himself on his own time, and still hid in the hoodies and dull t-shirts of his high school wardrobe. As he began to find himself and grow into the man he’s become today, the idea of getting tattoos---of doing something entirely for himself, that he could keep with him, as a part of him, always---became more and more appealing. Thirteen years and ten tattoos later, Monty’s settled in his skin in a way he’d never been growing up. A lot of it is personal growth, but the tattoos have certainly eased the way.
His very first tattoo sparked the beginning of a habit (at least to some extent) of adhering to age-old Navy tattoo traditions. A sea turtle tattoo (often referred to as a shellback or a shellback turtle tattoo, in this instance) is gotten by some following a line-crossing ceremony initiating sailors into King Neptune’s Court. In short: the turtle is often gotten to commemorate their first crossing of the Equator (and some light hazing).
A small collection of brightly patterned shirts and a surefire best friend into his time in service later, Monty and Monica had decided to get tattoos together; not matching, per se, but from an artist with a unique style that could easily be seen across his body of work. Monica suggested “a guy in a Hawaiian shirt,” Monty told the artist “take that and run with it” and by the time they left, Monty had a brand new dancing skeleton in a Hawaiian shirt.
Traditionally, a golden dragon tattoo signifies having crossed the International Date Line. Monty hadn’t had any serious plans to get this one, even as time off saw him joining friends on a trip to a local tattoo parlor. It wasn’t until he saw the design---initially in red ink---that the urge really struck and wouldn’t let go. He didn’t get it that day, but he did go back.
While posted in San Diego, Monty and Monica took a trip up to Los Angeles County to Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to see the poppy blooms. Not long after, they made the decision to go together to get matching poppy tattoos.
The FUCK LUCK rabbit and the NAILED IT shark are, most notably, tattoos Monty will attribute in storytelling to far too much alcohol and very convincing friends. He flipped through the books and picked them out (or at least lingered on the pages long enough that too-perceptive friends knew to egg him on), but they aren’t necessarily things he’d have gotten without the extra push. Still, he’s quite fond of both, the rabbit especially.
In the same vein, but with significantly less input from Monty, is the HERE FOR A LONG TIME, NOT A GOOD TIME t-rex skull. With laughter and grins, he’ll recount the story of how while on their trip to Australian, he, Monica and Gabriel spent their last night in the country going out for drinks and then picking out tattoos for each other. They got back to their hotel late, stumbled out of bed with just enough time to haphazardly pack and get out in time to make check-out, and then nearly missed their flight. The tattoo is good memories, more than anything else; the design isn’t really what’s important.
The fouled anchor is the emblem of the rate of Chief Petty Officer, and it’s not uncommon to see CPOs get a tattoo of the fouled anchor following their promotion. The floral touch was part of the artist’s style, and it was ultimately their design that sold the idea for him.
In naval tradition, the swallow can signify either a distance traveled (one swallow for every 5,000 nautical miles) or act as a sort of good luck charm in finding your way home. Monty will give a different answer depending on who’s asking about it. In casual conversation, Monty tends to go for “it was for my first five thousand; I just never kept up with it after that” as his answer. In truth, he got it after his most recent Thanksgiving with the Rodriguezes. He wasn’t sure when it had really started feeling like home, but after several years spending holidays with them, he knew it did. After the realization, the swallow finally felt right, and then it was just a matter of finding the right design for him.
Somewhere along the line over the course of their friendship, Monty and Monica got around to having the supernatural talk. He’d suspected her werecreature nature long before it came up, given some of her habits, but it wasn’t like the confirmation would change the fact that she was his best friend, so he let it lie. It’s become a regular topic of casual conversation for them over the years, and at some point (partially because he wanted something to keep his best friend close, and partially because it was going to be a truly hilarious inside joke) he decided to get a coyote tattoo. It’s been worth all of the “is this a wolf?” comments over the years to see Monica’s delight and exasperation every time she sees it.
