Why I have No Tattoos

[ellenkushner]

Well, for one thing, I'm much too flighty.  Yes, there have been times in my life when I've cared deeply enough about some potent symbol or aesthetic to want it permanently.  But  when I think of what I might have been stuck with if I'd been permitted to choose a china pattern at age 25 (that would have been pricey/fancy enough to have to keep always) - let alone a skin design . . . I blanch.  Go back a little farther, and yes, there would be unicorns (medieval, yes, but still).  Look, I do not like to wear even the same earrings often; the idea of having a permanent skin decoration just does not compute. 

And besides, I remember being told that traditional Judaism prohibits tattooing, because in ancient times it was the involuntary mark of slaves.  (I put that into a conversation the highly-tattooed Theron Campion has with his half-sister Jessica in Delia's & my book, The Fall of the Kings - of course, the Campions are not Jewish.....are they?).  It turns out this is not quite right - the campus Hillel.com site explains it better. 

What I do have is a set of 3 plain silver rings with words stamped on them, which I can take on and off.

I put them on for the High Holidays:  for the 10 days of turning and returning that is the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The words come from a song* with music by Philip Glass and lyrics by Laurie Anderson (whose album, Strange Angels,* is, to me, a perfect expression of the spirit of the High Holidays - was she even joking, in "The Ouija Board,"  [from her album The Ugly one with the Jewels] when she said that in past lives she was "...Hundreds and hundreds of rabbis" ?)  The song, from Glass's remarkable album Songs from Liquid Days,  is called "Forgetting":

A man wakes up to the sound of rain 
From a dream about his lovers 
Who pass through his room. [....]

The man is awake now 
He can't get to sleep again. 
So he repeats these words 
Over and over again: 
Bravery. Kindness. Clarity. 
Honesty. Compassion. Generosity. 
Bravery. Honesty. Dignity. 
Clarity. Kindness. Compassion.

I couldn't fit all the words on the 3 silver rings I ordered - but the ones I have serve to remind me of the verses.  They are things I think I need all the year 'round.  If they were on my skin, I might stop seeing them.

*Both  the songs "Forgetting" and "Strange Angels" are important parts of my "Door is Opened" special.

Comments

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

when I think of what I might have been stuck with if I'd been permitted to choose a china pattern at age 25 (that would have been pricey/fancy enough to have to keep always) - let alone a skin design . . . I blanch.

You made me smile! My sentiments exactly.

OMG! Still have to fan myself when I think about Theron Campion's tattoos. You wicked woman.

Thanks for the Hillel link. All the older people in our family told my daughter about the Jewish burial myth when she got a tiny tasteful tattoo near her ankle in her late teens. I'll be sure to pass that link along to her. She will be greatly relieved.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

So glad the link was useful. And that we agree on china - and Theron!

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I noticed that conversation between Theron and Jessica, and that was why. (Also fanning self, but still.)

I've chosen one. I've wanted it, unchangingly, for more than five years now. My boyfriend says it'll be my Life, The Universe, And Everything birthday present.

I'm going to have "A Mon Seul Desir" from the last panel of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries done around my ankle, just gold on blue. Only an IMPLIED unicorn. And exactly what I want.

I like your rings.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

That sounds beautiful. And like you've waited long enough.

[calimac.livejournal.com]

I've always been moved by that song. And the whole Songs from Liquid Days album, actually.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

So glad you know & like it, too! It's a real Who's Who of People We Love: Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, the Roches.....

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

My advice as a nurse, to younger relatives thinking of tattoos, is to imagine how it will look when they are 90 and being helped into the bath by some young woman...

Having considered this, my daughter has a Yorkshire Rose for her 5 years education in York and a Triskelion for her Manx nationality and identity; one on either hip. They are discrete and meaningful - but I still don't think I'll follow suit!

[freda-writes.livejournal.com]

I like looking at other people's tattoos but I don't have any either because a) never seen a design so meaningful I must have it on me forever and b) I'm wimpy about pain and c) almost everyone has a tattoo (I have no piercings either) and d) oh, they start to blur and look horrible after a few years... so no tats for me.

I love the rings idea. Hubby and I found matching silver wedding rings with 'On and on and on' all around them, which mean a lot to us.

[freda-writes.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add, I loved The Fall of the Kings!

Forgetting

[suzanna-o.livejournal.com]

I love Laurie Anderson, but I don't know that song! I'll have to listen to that special of yours today.