Piercings, Tattoos and A Crack-head Mama

Yesterday was a normal Monday; the weather was wet and cold but not out of the ordinary. My day didn’t get interesting until I walked into a tattoo shop not too far from my home.

When I first walked in the smell got me. Weed? No... maybe. But the longer I was in there the better I was able to tell that I smelled a rancid mix of cigarette smoke mix with the aroma of Thai cuisine from the restaurant next door.  A man in a wheelchair sat at the counter and another man stood next to him on the phone; his name was Steve. I told Steve what I wanted and he proceeded to make sure that we both understood what piercing I intended to get. After which, he proceeded to tell me about his roofing situation and how his couch was soaking wet.   

 He made a copy of my id and I signed a waiver and sat in the chair. At that moment a nurse came in wanting a correction to a tattoo her nephew placed onto her hand…I sat in the chair and waited for Steve. He proclaimed that he was the only employee and that he’d been “doing this” for 19 years. I’m not going to lie, I didn't feel totally confident in his skills and his lack of focus had a negative overcast on his 19 years of experience.

After his short discussion with the nurse, he remembered that I hadn’t paid and called me back to the counter. I handed him my credit card and waited once more. The nurse stayed, she asked if she could watch me get my ears pierced. I didn’t mind. She chatted with the man in the wheelchair; he introduced himself as Wheels. Steve put on his black surgical gloves, set the materials, cleaned and prepped and finally we were ready to go.

I was ready to go. Steve carried on his conversation with the nurse and Wheels. Have you ever wished you could unhear something? I do. I’m not sure why but Wheels found it necessary to tell us about his sexually deviant crack-head mother who has a particular liking for White men. He proceeded to tell us about her sexual escapades.

Steve clipped, snagged and pierced. It was a sharp pain but not unbearable. He did the left ear first and then he did the right ear. The right ear hurt way more, and it’s because he stuck the needle through differently, I could tell. He told me to clean my new holes with sea salt solution and I left.

While I left the shop with 2 piercings, I type this entry with just one. I removed the piercing from the right ear because it hurt and it just didn’t look as good as the left piercing. I’m cool with just one. Thanks Steve (I’m being sarcastic). I am confident that i will never go to that tattoo shop gain and I am equally certain that I will never forget the most eccentric Monday.