Spilled Ink: Brooklyn Bartenders Talk About Their Tattoos
Mike
Dining Room, Downtown Brooklyn
So which one is your favorite tattoo?
My favorite? I dunno. Probably the newest one [shows his forearm]. It says “Take Me Home.” When I die, take me there. This is my tattoo death arm. I went to Catholic school my whole life, and they teach you that death is this scary, eternal thing — so all the tattoos on this arm are related to death.
When you look at that arm, what kind of feelings does it evoke?
Nothing really that bad. I’m not terrified of death. This [points to “Take Me Home” tattoo] is my version of heaven. The rolling hills — like that John Denver song.
Then this [pivots to show left arm], this is my nature arm. I love nature. Actually, in six days I leave for a big trip around the world hiking in Iceland and stuff. This [points to top of shoulder] is a topographic map. It’s not a specific place, it just follows the contours of my arm. And I’ve got a tree right below…