indigo

My crowded subway commute gave me a few minutes to stare at a teenage boy's tattoo, which started just below his left ear and nearly covered that side of his neck: I love you Mom and Dad.  My mind leapt to what my parent's reaction would have been.  But what of his parents?  Anything from comedy ("just don't expect us to get one of those for you, son!"), to mild gratification ("that's nice, what's on tv tonight?"), to aesthetic critique ("that flowing script is all wrong - we would have preferred black letter"), to anger ("you'll never get a job now"), to - nothing (if his parents are dead and the tattoo is in remembrance).  My own reaction, of course, was to think about it: it is stating the obvious, but a lot of instinctive behavior - these rudiments of cultural and tribal mores - is about stating the obvious in mysterious ways.  And like the markings in Revelation, this boy's tattoo is, in its way, a mystery, of the "Behold! I show you..." variety.