The "XXIII" Story

Son Tad and former student Steve outside his Tattoo Studio.

It was an ordinary day.  Just said "Good-Bye" to my daughter Brynn, son-in-law Dave and grand- daughters Courtney and Camille as they pulled from the curb into traffic in downtown Lancaster, PA.  They were on their way back to Urbana, Maryland after spending the 4th of July weekend and a celebration of Brynn's holiday birthday with Carol and me and the rest of our family.  Before they left, they made a stop downtown so Brynn could visit the tattoo studio called Trancending Flesh.

Brynn and Dave

It is located on Chestnut Street in downtown Lancaster and is owned by a former student of mine, Steve Lowry.  Steve was an outstanding student in both the visual arts as well as my class in graphic arts.  Today he is perhaps the best tattoo artist in Lancaster.  My youngest son, Tad, has been a regular at his studio and today Brynn decided to made a visit.  She had decided to have a small tattoo on the inside of her left wrist which would be covered with her watch when she wears it.  

Steve is positioning a copy of what Brynn
wanted on her wrist.  It will act as a
guide during the tattoo process.

The tattoo is a simple Roman numeral "XXIII" which is the equivalent to the number "23". She has been thinking about it for sometime and decided to take the step and have it placed on her wrist while visiting with us over the July 4th holiday.  I told her I just had to go along with her to take a couple of photos so I could post a story here about the tattoo.  Her teenaged daughters also came along to see what is involved when you get a tattoo.  Now...why did she choose the number that she did?  It has a very sentimental meaning to it.  It was back on May 9th, 1998, at the age of 23 that she married David Mencarini and moved from our home in Lancaster, PA to Maryland where they lived in the basement of Dave's parents while they began their careers in teaching.  

Steve begins his work.

Then on March 23, 2002, her daughter Courtney was born.  On June 23, 2005 another daughter, Camille was born.  We all have special numbers in our lives that are either sentimental or memorable and Brynn wanted that special date, the 23rd, to be with her for her life.  It will be a visible reminder that she can share with others that I'm sure will bring about many conversations and more happy memories.  I'm glad I had the chance to witness the occasion and take the photos to share with you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Here you can see the tattoo being administered.

Finished result!

It will take a few days for the swelling and soreness to go away.  This photo
shows the number from the opposite side that she will hold up to show people.