Saturday, June 08, 2013

Tattoos & Bare Feet

Not long ago I was standing in line behind a neighbor at the Variety Store and I noticed a tattoo on her upper arm. It was of a scantily clad young lady (the tattoo had wings, so I think it was a nymph or a fairy).

I pointed to the tattoo and said, "That reminds me of the tattoos of naked ladies that my uncle had on his calves. When I was a kid he would roll up his pants legs, flex his muscles, and make the ladies dance for me."

My neighbor told me that soon after she moved to Ocracoke with her father they decided to attend church. She expressed some concern about her tattoos and what the parishioners would think of her. Her father reminded her that this was a seaport village, and the natives were accustomed to tattoos.

She was still a tad nervous, thinking her appearance might be a little too unusual...until she settled herself in the pew and glanced down to see that a native islander was sitting next to her barefooted. 

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is a tribute to a wonderful man who did much for Ocracoke Island, Marvin Wyche Howard (1897-1969). You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052113.htm.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:30 PM

    If He doesn't judge you by your appearance, then why should anyone else care?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:31 PM

    I'm not a tattoo person myself (though they dont bother me on other people) but I am all about bare feet! :P

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:03 AM

    I hear ya, Anon.12:31 p.m. NC Mainlander suspects there were plenty of folks wearing shoes and not sporting even one tattoo who never made it to church that day!😊

    ReplyDelete