My new neighbor across the street is a very talented and accomplihed tattoo artist, and my wife–who’s been considering getting a tattoo for quite some time now–is suggesting that she and I both get one from our new neighbor.
First, I’m not sure I’m a “tattoo guy”. Second, I have no idea what I would get.
Though… As a big fan of Stephen King’s Dark Tower books, these designs may be a possibility:
The first image incorporates key symbols from the books: a key, a rose, and Roland the Gunslinger’s revolver. I think it would make a nice tattoo because it’s colorful.
The second image is the sigul of the Crimson King, the force of evil and chaos in the books. This would make a cool-looking tattoo just because. I think it looks ominous…
The last image–and probably the most likely choice for a tattoo for me–is the symbol for ka, which, in its simplest definition, means destiny. In the books, ka is likened to a wheel (as in, “what goes around, comes around”) and also used in reference to the souls to whom we are bound in our journey (a ka-tet). I like its simplicity and what it represents.
I read the first Dark Tower book, The Gunslinger, when I was eighteen; and I read the last book right when it came out: sixteen years later in the fall of 2004. In the span of the seven books, I went from being a relatively carefree freshman in college to a married man of nine years and a father of three–and my appreciation for the books grows the more I read them. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they’ve had a profound influence in my life.
Of course, I would be remiss if I were to ignore another profound influence in my life–in the form of a movie seen on a rainy Saturday afternoon back in 1977 when I was a wide-eyed seven-year old. So to commemorate my thirty-two-year-long fascination with Star Wars, something like this might be cool:
The Jedi symbol–simple and straightforward.
Of course, the first and most pivotal decision is whether or not to get the tattoo at all…