Thursday, Jul. 30, 2009
Tattoo You
“Me and my brother were talking to each other
‘Bout what makes a man a man
Was it brain or brawn or the month you were born?
We just couldn’t understand
So me and my brother borrowed money from Mother
We knew what we had to do
We went downstairs past the barber and
gymnasium
And got our arms tattooed”
–from “Tattoo’’ by The Who
It’s been three years since I kicked off this here column with an excerpt from that classic song about coming of age – and the permanence of body ink.
Here’s the chorus to that song: “Welcome to my life, tattoo/I’m a man now, thanks to you/I expect I’ll regret you/But the skin graft man won’t get you/You’ll be there when I die.”
It’s been three years since Weekly Surge made its debut (Monday will mark the three year mark officially), and like a tattoo, we’re still hanging around…
It’s also been three years since tattooing was legalized in South Carolina, a topic we tackled in the first cover story published in Weekly Surge on Aug. 3, 2006.
Remember that cover image of heavily-tattooed models Renee Jones and Amy Lopez in a pseudo-lesbian-bondage pose, tattoo gun in hand? It apparently stirred up some controversy as Surge distribution boxes were banned at some locations, and despite the trepidation of our then-general manager, it was absolutely the right move to show that Surge wasn’t going to be like anything else on the beach.
I’m sitting here right now looking at a copy of that inaugural issue and its titillating cover photo – and those models look so fresh, so clean, and the body art is so vibrant and clear.
Tattoos are cool when you’re young, fit and have smooth skin. But what happens when you get older? What happens when the Tattoo Generation – even Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has a tat on her ankle – gets to be retirement age? What if regret starts to seep in? How much thought should you put into the design of your tattoo before ink meets skin?
We’ve dispatched intrepid correspondent Becky Billingsley to find out, and you can flip to page 12 for this week’s cover story to read all about it.
Here’s a partial answer, supplied by Billingsley, to what happens to tattoos as you become longer in the tooth: “They age with you, but it doesn't mean they become ugly. Some soften with sentimentality, others fade to sweet memories, and many folks go in for routine tattoo maintenance. With proper care, tattoos can be permanently awesome.”
So, on that note, we’ve also got some tips for caring for your tattoos and also some creative uses for tattoos, such as covering up unsightly cellulite.
Also, check out our exclusive editorial cartoon Art Attack which takes a humorous stab at life along the Grand Strand, with tattooing as a jumping off point.
Much has changed in three years – most notably the economy – and since Surge hit the streets, I’ve become a father, haven’t lost the baby weight, have avoided buying a mini-van, two family pets have died, we’ve bid farewell to several family members on my wife’s side, the government started handing out money to private enterprise, we’ve got our first African-American in the White House, the Myrtle Beach Pavilion is gone, the King of Pop is no more, Bike Week will never be the same, and out of the nine original Surge crew members, five of us are still here.
What has stayed the same are the simple, one color tattoos I have on my left arm (Gemini symbol) and my left ankle (Greek letters) and equally unchanged is Surge’s commitment to being “a reflection of your life, exploring issues you care about, engaging, entertaining and informing you” as I stated in the inaugural “From the Editor’s Desk’’ column.
Here’s to another three years and then some.