Miami Ink

True story: In a completely inebriated state during my chronically plastered college days, I dialed up my uber conservative father and the conversation went something like this:

ME: “Dad, as a true Pisces, it’s imperative I tattoo a band of aqua-colored dolphins around my left ankle. Like, right now. I’m going to the tattoo parlor and want your blessing. Time is of the essence here. Ok?”

DAD: “Are you out of your fucking mind????!!!!’

ME: “Um, yes, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m getting a tat and you need to know.”

DAD: “Well, what YOU NEED TO KNOW is that I will cut you off immediately — as in: No more college. No more chance at studying film or whatever your major is this month. No more car, no more apartment, no more cheap boxed wine, no more J. Crew sprees, no more Dave Matthews Band concerts, no more dinners at T.G.I.Fridays, no more Spring Break vacations — if you get a band of dolphins tattooed around your ankle. Dolphins! For chrissakes! How unoriginal. I’m embarrassed for you.”

ME: “Fiiiiiine. I’m hungry. I’m ordering pizza instead, Party Pooper.”

The moral of the story? Dad’s eternally right, kids. But until this very day, I’ve always wanted a tattoo and metallic gone-in-six-days Flash Tattoos do the trick for me nowadays. Now if only they’d whip up a style featuring a band of dolphins…

Photo by Ginger Harris