I often fear I am repeating myself, as similar subjects frequently haunt my thoughts. If I become redundant please forgive me...mark it up to bad genes and family tradition.
Not to mention that after sitting here typing for an eternity, I somehow managed to lose the entire entry and am starting over. Why is it, it never seems as good the second time?
Friday as I was trying to leave work, I was paged. I walked away from the elevator to return the call. I was sitting at a table in the lobby, trying to resolve the problem by phone, when a particularly obstinate surgeon walked over. I am in no way ashamed of my tattoos, but I do try to keep them covered at work. My lab coat had been shed on my way out the door and my tattoo was visible along the bottom edge of my short sleeve shirt. He pushed up my sleeve, to see my gargoyle. Still on the phone, I turned my body and pushed up the other sleeve, showing off my angel. He walked away shaking his head...but he was smiling too.
Body art always seems to elicit a strong response...everyone is entitled to an opinion. But I'm frequently surprised by it. An "older" conservatively dressed lady approached me at the mall Saturday. She could see the bottom half of my angel and asked if she could see the rest. She admired her and told me how beautiful she was. Anyone that appreciates body art, admires the work. Travis (King/Body Art Emporium) did an amazing job. The angel, bright and colorful is perceived as a symbol of hope and faith...good. My gargoyle, rendered in gray scale, often gets the opposite reaction. He is often mistaken for a demon. I frequently explain, in an architectural sense, what a gargoyle does. I have seen women wrinkle their nose, asking why I wanted something so ugly. But not everyone. I once had a Hispanic boy of 4 or 5 look up at me with bright shining eyes and proclaim, "Bonita gargoyle!"
That is the purpose...it's about perception. They are opposites in appearance...light/dark, male/female, but the same in character. Both are legendary protectors...and perceived totally different. Imagine the surprise I get when I propose that the angel is indeed the evil of the two...perhaps the angel of death. With this she often gets a closer inspection. No, there is nothing there to suggest such a morose occupation. But it makes people think.
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