[Maritime Q-Scout]

I'm not a tattoo guy, but firmly believe in the "to each their own" philosophy.

Growing up the only person I knew that had a tattoo was my neighbor at the end of the street. He had an anchor on his arm, and I think the name of the boat her served on when he was in the Navy. He said he got it in honor of his cremated that he lost.

I get that. It stuck with me, and I always thought a tattoo should be something meaniful that honors something most people don't experience.

When I was younger I used to think that random people getting a butterfly or barbed wire would devalue the memorial tattoo, but I don't think that anymore.

A few years ago I was away at meetings where a fellow board member recently got a forearm tattoo. It was well done but still fresh so it was itchy and the skin was peeling. It looked awful (not the tattoo, that was really well done, just the healing experience). Solidified by wimpiness and desire to not get one. Haha.

That said, I'm not going to say I'm never going to get one, but the right circumstances would need to present themselves.

Also when I was a kid my mother told my brother and I if we ever got a tattoo she'd cut it off with a cheese grater. So yeah, even now as semi-full grown adults neither my brother nor I are inked.