this story is for those of you who don’t know how i came to get my BTI tattoo.
it all started sometime about the beginning of july 2007 when Shane (bigbammer) invited me to his wedding with Keri (countess). i said i would try but probably wouldn’t because i could not afford for the wife and i to go. after speaking to her she told me i should go on my own, well i didn’t need telling twice. so i rang Shane and told him i was booking a ticket and that i would be there. all seemed to be going well until a few days later when Shane said the wedding was being moved forwards and was also going to be in Nichols, Iowa and not in New York as first arranged. And the most amazing part of all of this Shane asked me to be best man!!!! not a problem i just booked a flight to Chicago and Shane and Keri would come and get me. fantastic all was sorted and the flights to and from Chicago were booked and nothing could go wrong…!!!! famous last words…!!!!
on the friday morning i left home 8 hours early for a 2 hour drive to the airport. we were going pretty well until we got to the M25 London orbital motorway. there had been an accident where a lorry had rolled over and dumped 30 tons of plasterboard all over the whole carriageway. this brought us to a total stop and then it took 4 hours to get to the next exit, needless to say i didn’t get to the plane on time. i nearly just gave up as the airline wanted £250 or about $480 to reschedule for the following morning. i couldn’t afford that much more. anyway we asked about the price etc at the help desk and the guy there had a word with his manager and i just had to pay £50 more. phew what a relief. all day i had been trying to get hold of Keri or Shane to tell them to wait in Iowa as i might not get there. too late they had already gone and ended up staying the night in Chicago so that they would be there in the morning to pick me up. if ever any of you guys get the chance to go and meet them please do they are both awesome people and i am proud to call them part of my new extended family. well we got to Iowa no problem and the wedding all went well, despite Keri having a fit of the giggles during the ceramony. then there was a cake reception etc. we all went to the pub after that and i took the piss out of the plastic darts, we have real ones in the UK…!!! lol..!! Kevin (inkbug) said this is because they tend to throw them at each other. well we do in England, don’t stop us having real ones. did seem funny to me that hand guns are totally illegal in the UK and we have real darts, in the USA you have the right to bear arms but only get plastic darts in your local pub……!!! lol…!!!
the day after the wedding, sunday, we had breakfast with Keri’s parents (love you mum and dad) and then it was off to Chicago to find Wendy’s tattoo shop and to meet Wendy (tatbrat1488). we got to Chicago and booked some rooms at a super8 motel then went and found Wendy. once there Shane, Keri,Kevin and I all got new ink done and we all had BTI tatt’s to commemorate the ocassion in style.
Close up
we then spent what was left of the night with Wendy and her friends in a local Irish pub till it closed. the following morning it was back on a plane and then home…..
so there you have it, something like a 9,000 mile round trip to be Shane’s best man at his wedding with Keri and then a BTI tattoo… i had a awesome time and met some awesome people, I’ve never felt so welcome anywhere ever and would like to say thanks to everybody…. Phoenix
People meet in different ways, fall in love, get married, and have kids. There is nothing new about it, very traditional. In our case however it is outside the norm. We meet in a chat room. Not just any chat room but here on BTI. How can two people fall in love that have never met? As strange as it sounds it happened. We exchanged phone numbers, and there was A LOT of late night calls. The more we talked the more our love for each other grew. We feel in love with each other’s mind and souls. The choice to fly half way across the country was an easy one. We knew that we were meeting the loves of our lives. We meet face to face on Friday the 13. The luckiest day in our lives. We had talked about getting matching tattoos done, but that was not good enough for us. We decided on getting a heart with a lighting bolt through it. We split the heart down the center of the lighting bolt. For I carry his heart and he carries mine. They are only complete and beat as one when we are together. It is our symbol of the love that we have for each other. It has only been a short time that we have know each other, but we both feel as if we were struck by lighting. The best part of this whole story is on bent knee Shane purposed to Keri so our hearts will always beat as one. Shane and Keri were married this past August in New York.
Who says love has to be traditional!
Shane and Keri
BigBammer and Countess
I have two tattoos that are memorial tattoos. The first one I got on my brothers 10th aniversary of his death back in 2005. The tattoo is on my left wrist and its a claggdah. I have the heart facing towards me to show that my brother has my heart. It also had his birth year 1980 initials TSD and death year 1995. The second one is on my chest its an anatomical heart with wings showing that my brothers heart is free. I lost my brother to a car accident that he, my sister, my mother and I were all involved in. He was ejected from the car and was killed instantly. The cop told my father when he arrived to the scene he didn’t think anyone would be alive after what he saw. Luckily 3 of us did survive, but unfortunatly we lost my brother. He was 14 and the oldest of the children. He was a freshman in high school and a great artist. He would draw flash art all of the time and he constantly told me he was going to be a tattoo artist and a drumer for a famous touring band. My brother would have accomplished these goals if his life wasn’t taken from him. All the tattoos that I will be getting on my body are going to be for him and my family. I hold them all so close to my heart. My family is what keeps me alive.
Well on my upper right arm I have the crimson Ghost (Misfits) and under it I have a portrait of Cliff Burton, the late great bass slinger of Metallica. On September 27th, 1986, about a month afterwards, I met Metallica at the Syracuse War Memorial when they opened for Ozzy. Cliff was killed in a bus accident in Scandinavia. When the bus rolled, Cliff flew out the window and the bus landed on him. The next day I heard about the tragic accident and I was crushed. All of us metal heads were crying. The Jocks and preps started making fun of us so we beat the hell out of about 15 of them and we were suspended. Anyways, I was hurt for the whole school year, crying almost every day. My buddies even gave me the nickname “Cliff” which lasted throughout high school. I was 15 when Cliff died. The only tattoo Cliff had was the Crimson Ghost and I wanted to get the same tattoo! I got my crimson ghost on April 11th 2006…which just happens to be the day Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica in 1983. Then I found a cool picture of Cliff wearing his cowboy hat and cut off flannel shirt which was cool because you could see his tattoo. So, I had his portrait done underneath my ghost! Now my whole right arm is a tribute to Cliff Burton and Metallica! I finally felt peace in my heart after the 2 tattoos. I lost a friend and a hero. I was 15 when I met them and all we did was party. I don’t have any autographs or pictures…only the memory in my heart and soul!
Many people choose their tattoos from the wall…many have their tattoo drawn for them while waiting in the shop, but I was lucky enough to have mine drawn by my dad. My dad past away last year in July and when my mom found this picture I decided to have it tattooed. I didn’t want any color added to it. I wanted it exactly how it was and the artist did exactly that even down to my dads name as it shows in the drawing. I couldn’t think of any other way to remember my dad since my dad was also tattooed I think he would be happy and like it. I placed it over my right shoulder because my dad had a song for me it’s called “Look over your shoulder you’ll find me”. It’s an old school R&B song there for he will forever be right besides me. I also named my son after my dad (well his middle name anyway) since my son was born a month and a half after my dad past. The words Mi Querida mean my love and my dad loved buying me and my mom roses. So to my dad I love and miss you, may you rest in peace, love your Lil Queen.
All of my tattoos are reminders of a specific event in my life. I love them all equally but if I must choose only one of them, I would pick my chest piece. I got it when I survived my ex. My ex used to be a psychopath, the most violent person I’ve ever known and my first love. He almost killed me at one point so when it was over I decided to get that chest piece. The guns are the more important element. They represent an end. Nobody can do what they want with my body anymore…I take charge. Its a warning. It has a non-violent meaning to me…I just chose to use guns to express this warning. I added roses to it to represent a ever-blooming me kind of way, like I grew and learned through that experience.T he banner has my pinup name on it. I chose my pinup name since its something I’m proud to have achieved since my ex was thinking of me as a fat,ugly person. I proved him wrong and the swallows are beautiful birds that can fly away from any further danger. I love my tattoo and what it represents.
I got my first after my middle name which was after my great-grandmother who was Native American and then the last, for her daughter (my grandmother) when she passed on 3 yrs ago. My grandmother was my rock and the Hummer and Tiger lily are the beggining of a back piece in their honor and in honor of my Native heratige. I am very proud of them and the legacy they left me with my name. I am still designing the back piece and hope to start it later this summer. It will take a lot of chair time and funds to complete though, so may take a while to finish.
I’ve always suffered from depression and one day I was in the book store looking for a book to get my mind off of all the sad things that were happening. I came across a book called “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein, I sat in the middle of the book store and cried and cried and cried, I had never felt so inspired, so touched I felt like I was reading my own biography. Well, needless to say I got the story inked on my feet, the beginning on one foot and the end on the other. When People ask me, what is that, I tell them the story and in my mind I hope that somehow they find the same peace that I found when I read it.
This tattoo , although my smallest tattoo , means the most to me . As an 18 year old kid , I was very well on my way to killing myself by 19 , be it drugs, alcohol , or just whatever I had the whim for that day. One day , I woke up and my life changed , completely . I found out I was pregnant , with my daughter , Jimanie ( like Jiminey Cricket). Being pregnant, I stopped my self destructive habits immediately. I fell in love with my baby, and when she was born , I named her Jimanie Jasper (her father picked that) Rain. This “cricket” is actually a grasshopper that was on her very first outfit (she happened to be born a preemie and when I sent my mother to buy her a preemie outfit she knew immediately this was the outfit for our lil cricket) . The symbol above the cricket means “rain”. In every way this tattoo defines me as a mother, how I was reborn to no longer care about myself , but let my world revolve around my “lifesaver”
My sea horse tattoo! Well I got this tattoo because a friend and I got the same one. Her’s is different colors and does not have the waves, and hers has VK onthere. My has TQ just under it. We are no longer in contact but I wish we were…I miss her! She was my best friend. Our picture is on my profile. We had fun at our job too! BARTENDERS (Pepper and Johnni)
