However I did have something that was number one on my list. To the surprise of many, that was to receive a tattoo.
Some would say that I am impulsive, and they may not be wrong. But let me start at the beginning. When I was attending Philmont in 2004 there was a fellow staffer who had a Zia tattoo just above her ankle. The artist that had inked it had done a suburb job. She was from L.A., California so I figured she had a high end artist ink it.
I always loved the look of it. It also encompassed the vibe of Philmont and the surrounding area. So it stuck with me. Since then I had seen other staffers with Philmont or Zia tattoos. For those who don't know what a Zia symbol is, here is the Wiki page for it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zia_people
So after fifteen years I decided to have one inked. I had heard good things about tattoo artists in Taos. So I did my homework. I looked at the photos of all their work. There was one artist who stood out, and that was Matt Conklin.
To me Matt's work stood out far beyond any of the other artists work I looked at. So I contacted him, and made an appointment with him at Taos Tattoo.
I was very specific with what I wanted. I wanted a Zia Sun Symbol 4 X 4 inches. I also wanted the Philmont brand in the corner. The big changes I wanted was that I didn't want a black outline of the Zia. I wanted it red, and then like a Gibson sunburst Les Paul, it would burst into yellow. Namely the yellow of the New Mexico state flag.
He named a price, and set to work. He flat told me, "Getting a tattoo sucks. It's gonna hurt." I was told by two lady friends of mine that there was pain, but it was a "good pain." Guess what? They were wrong. It hurt like hell. But, here's the final work.
As you can see, Matt is dang good at what he does. He said, "Think about it. For a Zia you have to draw a perfect circle with 16 straight lines. There is no room for error."
I asked him, "When I spoke to you on the phone, you said that you ink a dozen Zia's a week. Does that make me a basic bitch?"
He immediately replied, "Nah! The ones we do are usually only an inch or two wide. You went with a big one on your chest, and you did it in color. No man, you went all the way."
He also went on to say that, "Chest tattoos hurt. Well, they all hurt. But chest tattoos hurt a lot worse."
I had it placed on my chest where it would be covered by a shirt. That way, if I were to work at any professional job it wouldn't show.
I told Matt that I had been reading up on taking care of newly inked tattoos. He said they weren't as hard to take care of as some of the sites say they are. His big concern was keeping them clean, and making sure to use Aquaphor healing lotion on it. I've followed his advice, and I've haven't had any problems for the last four days.
I know they say, "Never say never." Heck, even I said that. But I feel this is my last tattoo. Although I can't say it was my first. My first was given to me eight years ago by a doctor. Admittedly, he saved my life, and I credit that to him, but I was left with a heck of a scar.
Now the scar didn't change me as a person. (Except for the fact that I was still six feet above ground.) And this tattoo, like this scar, won't change me as a person. I didn't become an outlaw, 1%er, gang member, or celebrity chef because of the scar or tattoo. I'm still me. And I think that's the one thing I learned when I had my scar. I'm still me.
Anyway, I feel that this is my last tattoo. This thing hurt like hell, and I really don't see going through that again. In fact, I don't know how people who sit for days having full sleeve tattoos do it. (Okay, hours at a time over a number of days.)
Matt spent a great deal of time on this one. I believe he spent an hour and a half. Of course, every second getting inked felt like an eternity, so I may be off on my time. Oh, I also had a ten minute break in the middle. He said he could tell I needed some water and a break. He was 100% correct. I needed that break.
Overall I'm very happy with the tattoo. I'm equally happy with Matt. He really knew his stuff. Heck, even before he started he said, "Remember to breathe." And you know what? He was right. I immediately tried holding my breath.
I immediately reverted back to my younger self when, as a kid, I would receive a haircut from Jack my barber. I would hold perfectly still. Namely, because I didn't want a bad haircut. I figured that it was very difficult to be a barber so I was like a statue for him. I mean, I concentrated on holding as perfectly still as I could. That includes holding my breath.
So, I did the exact same thing for Matt. I figured if he was drawing with permanent ink I'd better hold as dang still as I could. Eventually though I had to breathe. But he would ink for about 10 seconds, and then return to his inkwell, and draw more ink into the needle. So it gave me some time to relax between having the needle run into my skin.
So it's here to stay, and so am I. I'm happy with it. And I'll be able to move forward carrying a little bit of Philmont with me wherever I go. And you know what? I feel good about that.
