Blood and Ink

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat”

Probably one of  the most memorable lines in any movie.  When you hear those words you know exactly what movie I am talking about…

Jaws.

Jaws was a great movie, with countless great moments, and just as many great lines.  But for me, there is one scene that stands above the rest. A scene that has no iconic lines.

It’s not catchy, it’s not comical.

It is a scene that is more real, a scene that I can connect with, a scene that all of us can connect with.

It is a scene that has taken place in bars, around fires, and anyplace people sit together and connect .

No matter the setting the act is always the same.

We recount our adventures together, and not only do we relive them ourselves, but we help others live them too. We help them feel what we felt with not only auditory, but visual evidence as well. We show them our battle wounds, we show them that we are not invulnerable, we show them proof that we are human.

These are not wasted moments in life. They are real moments.

Paid for in blood.

Do you recall the scene in Jaws now?

The three heroes are sitting together at sea.

Waiting…

Drowning in the monotony.

Then suddenly there is a spark. Something gets them going again, something breaks the silence and makes these stoic heros almost giddy.

And what was it that sent this voyage on a new course, that made these three men, for the first time in the film truly bond?  

That’s right…. talking about their scars.

This is a pastime that has help men and women bond   with one another since the beginning of time. It is something primal that makes us want to share our wounds, and not only share them but flaunt them proudly.

These scars are symbols.

And they just don’t symbolize pain. They symbolize adventure, love, and passion as well.

They symbolize life.

But, what about when life does not scar us physically?

How do we show these marks when reliving our escapades, recounting lost love, or trying to put an explanation point at the end of our story?

Enter the tattoo.

When life doesn’t leave it’s mark on you you can.

It  is one of the main reasons tattoos have become so popular. It’s a way to write your story on your body.

And just like our heroes stuck on the boat in Jaws, these tattoos, these scars create conversations. Then, these conversations create bonds.

And these are no ordinary bonds.

These bonds are forged in blood and ink.