I recently turned 64 and got my first tattoo. I am feeling very cool. I feel like I can now refer to other people as "dude" (I am not actually going to do this).
What caused me to get my first tattoo at 64? Well, first I am not a tattoo hater. Those people certainly exist, but I don't count myself in that camp. Two of our sons and our (only) daughter have tattoos. This did not cause any contention in our family.
As some of you may know, my sons and I play in a golf event, "The Father and Three Sons Golf Classic". A few years ago one of the families decided to get the event logo tattooed on their back right shoulder. We thought it was a great idea and have talked about doing something similar on and off for a few years. Recently the discussion turned to the idea of getting the tattoo on our 20th anniversary of playing the event. It turns out that that anniversary is this year. So we had to ask ourselves "Are we really going to do this"? The answer turned out to be yes. As an aside, if you or someone you know has a father and three sons and is interested in playing in the golf event you can check it out at www.fatherandthreesons.com. (It is more of a family event on a golf course, not a serious golf tournament.)
I was the tattoo studio researcher (I think they used to be referred to as tattoo parlours but studio is the current term) and after a brief google search decided to check out these three studios: Motor City Tattoos in Oshawa, Taunton Tattoos in Oshawa and Closed Casket Tattoo in Ajax (I picked this one because I thought the name was cool). I sent each of them an online inquiry. Because of the backlog caused by COVID-19, Closed Casket Tattoos were only scheduling artist-designed tattoos (presumably because they make more money on those) so they were out. I was assigned an artist at the other two places and scheduled a consult. One of my main concerns was health and safety in addition to the design capability of the artist/studio. Both locations had strict COVID protocols, were well maintained and clean. I decided on Motor City Tattoos as it was the first place I visited, I liked the artist Mitch and as it turns out Sean and Kevin knew him from the local Durham music scene. I visited Mitch once more to see his proposed design (he essentially photoshopped and adjusted the logo from the Father and Three Sons website). After a couple of adjustments, we landed on a design. The staff along with Mitch were very friendly and accommodating. They answered all my questions - I had lots given it was my first time getting a tattoo. Sean, Kevin and I were then scheduled for the tattoo Saturday, September 11. Patrick who recently moved to Windsor will get his done with Mitch on a visit home. I'll send Brendan, my youngest son the electronic design of our tattoo so he can get his done in Triadelphia, West Virginia where he lives.
When we arrived on the 11th we went through the studio’s COVID protocols and signed their waiver form (it was extensive). Mitch showed us the final design, we made one slight change to the size of the date and then were all set to go. Mitch went through an extensive cleaning process of his workstation. After deciding I would go first, Mitch turned the design into a stencil that was like a temporary tattoo. He used this as an outline for the actual tattoo. I would say the tattooing process was less painful than I expected. I am a wimp when it comes to pain so this is to say it did not hurt very much. I would describe the feeling as having a needle dragged across your skin (which is essentially what a tattoo is). Mitch explained to me the proper care for the tattoo over the next week. Once I was finished Mitch extensively cleaned his workstation again and Kevin was next. Sean went last. Teresa then met us for lunch to celebrate getting our Father and Three Sons tattoo.
The reaction of friends and family has been interesting. I would say the vast majority of feedback has been positive. My kids think it is great that we are getting this done and I am participating (this particular tattoo really wouldn't make sense unless we all did it). My nieces and nephews think it is very cool. Most of my friends think it is a fun idea. A (very) few family and friends seem to be cool (as in temperature) to the idea and say things like "that is interesting". I interpret that as code for "really?". No one has called me crazy or been hostile (I didn't really expect that from my family and friends).
This process of getting my tattoo has caused me to give some thought to tattoos in general and their history. In my neighbourhood growing up in the suburbs of Toronto during the 1960s, virtually no one had a tattoo. None of my friends had one, although we were all in grade school. Certainly, none of the mothers on our street had tattoos or would have ever thought about getting one. I remember only a couple of fathers with tattoos - one that had served in the Navy and one was a truck driver. My father was a manager at IBM and would never have gotten a tattoo. I am pretty sure that any suggestion that my sister or I were going to get one would have raised hell (my father and I already had a lot of contention about the length of my hair in the '70s). Even as I got into high school I do not remember any of the kids at Agincourt Collegiate having tattoos.
Sean, Brendan and Lauren all got their tattoos when they were older and the decision was clearly theirs. I do remember as our children were growing up some discussion amongst parents about the difference between ear and body piercing (it doesn't have to be permanent) and tattoos which are more permanent. Having said that I am not sure Teresa and I would have intervened if one of our kids wanted a tattoo when they were younger (or is it just easier to say that now ? (smile)).
Interested in the history of tattoos? Check out - https://authoritytattoo.com/history-of-tattoos/. The article gives a great summary of the history of tattoos.
Although the history of tattoos goes back thousands of years, the first evidence of tattooing seems to be around 3370BC and 3100BC. It has been only in the last 20 years that tattoos have been widely accepted as an art form for anyone. I do remember as a child reading about the "tattooed lady" - women who appeared at circus sideshows (apparently the original tattooed lady was Emma de Burgh in the 1800s).
Certainly, since the 1990s / 2000s we have seen tattoos move from primarily entertainers, athletes to the mainstream. Both men and women seem to be embracing tattoos and it is commonly said that once you get one tattoo you will get another (and another and ...).
How about some statistics on tattoos from an article written by Arthur Zuckerman in May 2020:
36% of US citizens age 18-29 have at least one tattoo.
72% of tatted adults have tattoos that are hidden by their clothing.
In 2012, around 45 million people (21%) in America alone had one or more tattoos.
35% of United Kingdom citizens aged 30-39 have tattoos.
30% of US college graduates have tattoos.
11% of people with tattoos in the United States belong in the age range of 50-64 years old. (that's me!)
15% of men and 13% of women in the US have tattoos.
36% of the US Armed Forces, including military veterans, have tattoos.
Tattoos seem to be more popular with people who attained higher levels of education (32%) compared to those with lower education levels (26%).
With 38% of adults aged 30-39 being tattooed, older millennials are the most likely people to get a tattoo.
A few more:
in 2012 22% of Canadians had tattoos, slightly higher than Americans
it seems unclear whether more men or women have tattoos in Canada. I have seen both stats and it appears to depend on the year examined. See lots of interesting stats on tattoos here - https://medium.com/daliaresearch/who-has-the-most-tattoos-its-not-who-you-d-expect-1d5ffff660f8
apparently, 17% of people regret getting a tattoo with a slightly higher percentage of women with regret than men.
In the end, for me, I would only get a tattoo for something meaningful. Certainly, The Father and Three Sons golf event fits that category. It is unique because you can only join if you are a father and have at least three sons. It is a great event because the exclusivity is about family versus, money, race or the country club you are a member of. When I got my children into golf I always hoped that it would be something we would do together for a lifetime. So far it has worked out that way. The majority of my 45+ rounds of golf this season have been with family. Getting the tattoo and continuing to play in The Father and Three Sons golf event will be a memory Sean, Patrick, Kevin, Brendan and I will always share.
And remember, once you get one tattoo you tend to get another. I am already planning the next one, more on that later...
As always let me know what you think at thethirdperiod.ca@gmail.com
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