Tattoo You

I got my first tattoo when I was 40 years old. We were vacationing with friends in Vegas, and it was an idea I had been contemplating for some time. Maybe it was the cold reality of entering middle age or the carefree nature of Las Vegas, but I worked up the courage to sit down and get something permanently etched across my body. I knew exactly what I wanted and 30 minutes later left with a small tattoo on the inside of my right arm. 

I walked across the road back into the casino and began showing my friends... 

But before that, I Facetimed Kyle from the bathroom of a Vegas casino. He was staying with my father-in-law and I told him before I went out what I planned to do with the particular design. My devotion and pride in my children were permanently sealed with a small, intimate marking in dark ink. But they say tattoos are addicting and "they" are exactly right. I began plotting my next tattoo which in terms of design and scope to my first would be like jumping straight from rookie ball into Game 1 of the World Series.

Tattoo #2 is a representation of our family. The four triangles represent the Smoky Mountains, in which we live in the foothills of, and the waning crescent moon a nod to our last name, "Mooney". My third (Tattoo #3) tattoo is a Native American symbol for clear weather. Seeing as we're not Native American you may be wondering as to its significance. Well, you see, it rains quite a bit in Knoxville, especially during the Spring months. And Kyle played a lot of baseball in the Spring that was impacted by all the rain. And it would get us both quite upset when a game would be cancelled or postponed. I began smoking a peace pipe on evening before his games, but the neighbors complained of the smell, so I had to give that up and opt for the tattoo to bring us good fortune. Three tattoos, all inside a year on the same arm. I was finished by that point. Tattoos are expensive, they kind of hurt and I ran out of fresh ideas.

But my children kept asking me, "What's next?" I decided that if I was ever to get another tattoo it would be to commemorate a team I cheer for winning a championship. And on June 17th, 2024, my beloved Boston Celtics won their NBA record 18th World Championship. This tattoo is pretty straightforward. It's also, if we're being really honest, pretty terrible and tacky. If tattoos were a representation of hierarchy in a family, my Celtics tattoo would be the black sheep that dropped out of diesel college. It's the cousin Eddie of body art. But then a week later the Tennessee Vols baseball team won their first national championship. To be quite honest, I didn't have the heart to go through with another tattoo so soon. My arm was still sore and unlike the Celtics tattoo I didn't want to rush into another marking that I might regret. Plus, as I mentioned during Kyle's eulogy, with the way Tennessee baseball recruits and develops players if I got inked each time the won the College World Series, I'd risk ending up looking like Post Malone. So, I welched on my bet and decided to put the baseball artwork on the backburner until the idea struck me.

And then it struck me. The baseball tattoo was back on albeit with significant changes to honor the current state of my family. I would implement the design of a baseball field and add the #11 (Kyle’s number) behind the 1st and 3rd bases, the positions Kyle loved to play. Baseball fields are unique in that the infield dimensions are always the same. But once you get into the outfield anything goes. Some fields play really deep, while others play shallow. Some have walls as high as 37' (the Green Monster in Boston's Fenway Park) or low (55" in left field at Dodger Stadium). They can be a variety of shapes, sizes and angles. 

I always told Kyle that one of the reasons I loved baseball is that it's a metaphor for life - a lot of failure and missteps, unique and interesting challenges, but a lot of fun if done correctly. The infield represents your day to day life - uniform, concrete and routine - while the outfield represents the unincumbered - free of constraints to chase whatever it is you're passionate about. It's my favorite tattoo to date as it holds a deep significance to him and something he loved so dearly. When I got the design made and tattooed this past Friday at (3 Sevens Tattoo [ Seymour Tennessee ] (@3sevenstattoo) • Instagram photos and videos) Owner and Artist Jarrod Ray was eager to hear the story and inspiration behind the design. Him and his team at 3 Sevens inquired about Kyle, who he was and did he have a relationship with Jesus. And I explained to them - Kyle loved three things - his family / fiends, baseball and God. Kyle used to pray for me because I was not as close to God as I once had been, that's how strong his faith was. After the few hours spent with Jarrod and his team at 3 Sevens we gathered in a circle and prayed. It was a somber and peaceful moment and once that humbled me as a father and a Christian. 

Now a quick Google search shows that the art of tattooing goes back to as early as 3250 BCE which is over 5,200 years ago. For centuries different cultures around the globe have used tattooing as a way of tribal and personal identification, devotion to a deity or acknowledging kills on the battlefield. When I was kid, however, tattoos were a way to falsely identifying someone as "white trash" but have since undergone a cultural renaissance.

Which is where I enter the equation. I never hunted mastodons during the Ice Age, and I never served in WWII, but I do use tattoos as a way of cultural identification. My cultural markings identify me as a devoted father, family member and fan. A person who loves so deeply that he's willing to permanently honor those around him with a pound of his flesh. 

Some claim that tattoo removal is more painful than the art of tattooing itself. Why is that it? I'm sure it has something to do with the actual removal procedure, but is there an underlying emotional significance in the removal process itself? I'd give anything to have my son back. I'd spend every day for the rest of my life getting poked and prodded with tattoo removal lasers to have another minute with him. And now I'm bargaining, another stage in the grieving process. The bargaining stage helps to offset the helplessness I feel in dealing with Kyle's death. My hope and belief are that one day we will be together again. And I hope when we do it's when I'm old and grey. And at first, he won't recognize me. That is until he looks at my left arm and sees that godawful Celtics tattoo.