You will not be surprised that this bald, 42-year-old suburban father does not have any tattoos. My not having any tattoos is not, however, a function of some sort of value judgment about people getting ink. It’s more about (a) having skin tones, random freckles and a body type which does not lend itself to a very aesthetically-pleasing display of artwork (really, I’m a pale, skinny-armed bad canvass of a human being); and (b) not being able to think of any design I’d be happy with for the final several decades of my life.
The latter one is really key here. I think back to various points in my life and what was important to me at the time. Hobbies or bands or interests or favored sorts of artwork or names of significant others or symbols — you name it — and they have almost all changed. I suppose at some point I could’ve gotten a baseball inked someplace and that would still be good, but eh. My kids names? Eh, as well, and that’s even before you consider that we could end up in a Han-Kylo relationship one day, sullying even that. So many landmines when you’re making permanent decisions and you don’t have the “hey, whatever didn’t kill me back them made me stronger” mindset. I’m rather jealous of those people, truth be told.
However, if you actually accomplish something in your life — something that will always be great and which no one can take away from you — then, yes, you have yourself some decent tattoo material. That’s what Salvador Perez has. He’s a world champion now and will be, always and forever. And this offseason he got a tattoo commemorating that and posted pics to his Instagram:
Oh, a third reason to be wary of tattoos, at least if you get them when you’re young and at the peak of your physical fitness like Perez is? Someday those arms are gonna look like a couple sacks of flab and the scene won’t be quite as pretty. Perez will still be a champion so it probably doesn’t matter, but it’s something he’s still gonna have to look out for.
