Tattoo's...........

I don’t have one. I’ve always joked, if I ever were to get one, I’d get an eentsie-teentsie one “down there” that said “morticians suck” - ‘cause ya gotta go down makin’ em laugh.

Tattoo’s are indelible. Ya can’t change them. Oh sure, you can go back and have something written over, try to wipe it out - but it’s there……. Forever.

I’m gonna sound old here, but, it’s my take we think differently virtually every decade of our life. What would look cool on our arm at 21, might really suck at age 40. Mebbe, mebbe not.

The kinda tattoo’s I wanted to talk about though.. Are behaviors.. How we behave, react, deal with, follow thru (or not), day-to-day actions - of how we deal with life.

Hearda fable one time about the feller that said HORRIBLE things to a loved one, day after day, year after year… Finally, the loved one said “hey, each time you say something wicked or evil or improper… go hammer a nail in the wooden fence out back.” So, over the course of time, the fence got more decorated, and less and less wood exposed.

“Now” said the older fart, as the young one had aged, “when you do something for the good, say something for the good - please go pull a nail outta the fence.”

So - after some length of time, one by one the nails were pulled - the demeanor/actions/behaviors of the nail feller changed - and he’d finally gotten down to the last nail.

Cheerfully, he spouted “I DID IT! LOOK! THE NAILS ARE ALL GONE!”…. to which the older (and of course wiser) one responded, “sure… but do you see those holes? Those ‘scars’? There’s no repair to those." Indelible. Tattoos.

Jane you ignorant slut, I’m talking to Victor here too. Not preaching, not lecturing… I’m telling - and hopefully I'm listening too.

We can’t take back an oral statement. We can’t take back body language. We can’t take back the years where the bridge has caught on fire… We can’t take back lack of concern about a friend, loved one, by allofasudden, showing love, concern. The scars, the tattoos, they’re their forever.

As we walk toward the end of the day, and head to bed at night - in retrospect, lets us look at the day, the 'scorecard.' If I/you’ve placed a nail in the fence - it’s ok, we’re human. But, please let us all remember tomorrow that the nails leave a scar - a tattoo - indelible.

Believe me, there’ve been many times in my life when I’ve wanted to rent a nail gun and go ratta-tat-tat on an individual… a ‘friend’… a loved one… a co-worker… but it ain’t worth it. Tattoos are forever. The nail in the fence leaves the scar. There’s no repair, no taking back. Irreversible.

Today really really sucked for me. I had my hammer out and I was ready to pound. Loved one did pound some nails - very hard - but I resisted the urge to pound back (but I did have my staple gun out ready for ratta-tat-tat!!!)

THE one and only one I thought had a handle on my job performance and how it relates to our company’s profits - questioned me today. I stood my ground, asked for specifics (was never given any) and basically said I was offended by his actions. Mebbe I tattooed, I dunno - he certainly did.

Yesterday - someone sent me a message, simply of “sweet dreams.” We take that for granted. CJ, when you turnover at night and offer that to Bobby, please know how special it is.

We single turds - having no one to offer ‘sweet dreams’ too - (as well as you married/in a relation folks too) having nothing more to think of when we retire than “did I tattoo anything in life today?”… “Did I hammer a nail in the fence?”… “Have I caused a scar?”… “:Did I do anything indelible?”

Life, really is great - even if the nails are put into our own sole. Lord knows we could setup historical examples on that one.

May you have few scars, and even fewer that you’ve created. Tis ok, we all create them, some, just at a more rapid pace. Long as we’re knowledgeable in doing so - they’re reduced, cutback.

Make a great indelible mark on life. Say no to ratta-tat-tat. Try some kinda filler on the nail holes you have on your person.. Forgive… Calm is good.

Still………. Morticians suck…. Love, Victurd!