This
week, I interviewed my good friend, Mike “Dogman” O’Keeffe, who is a 21
year-old Special Education major from Long Beach, New York.
Mike’s
tattoo is a script tattoo on his side that reads “Grace Under Pressure”.
Mike described the meaning behind the
quote to me in detail during our interview, he said, “'Grace Under Pressure'
was Hemingway's definition of courage. He first said it in a letter he was
sending to F. Scot Fitzgerald and when he asked Hemingway what his definition
of courage was he simply said 'courage is grace under pressure'. The phrase
stuck with me after I had read the letters and I sort of got it as an homage to
the pain I went through as a kid having open heart surgery and living with only
3 chambers in my heart.”
Mike
got his tattoo done at 808 Tattoo in Kaneohe, Hawaii while on a surf trip with
some friends and he noted that the tattoo had a fun back-story, “Hemingway is
my favorite author and I always wanted a tattoo inspired by him. I was in
Hawaii on a surf trip visiting a buddy of mine and after we got out of the
water he said "hey lets go get tattooed!" and at the time I was
reading 'A Farewell to Arms' and I had just recently read the letters Hemingway
and Fitzgerald had sent to each other and that phrase stuck with me and in the
heat of the moment I decided that would be what I got tattooed. It's my latest
tattoo too so that's why I'd say it's currently my favorite.”
Mike
said that he plans on getting more tattoos in the future and if money or his
job were not an issue, that he would be covered in them right now.
To
close the interview, I asked Mike to give me his opinion on tattoos as a form
of expression. I asked many others this question throughout the course of my
blog, but I feel as though Mike hit the nail on the head with his answer, “I
feel that tattoos are a great form of expression. Whether it's a memorial
tattoo, personal, funny, or you just like the artwork. Tattoos are an
incredible way to express your individuality.
I'd say do some research on the
place you go for your first. I know one too many people who just walked into a
shop and got whatever nonsense the guy showed ‘em just because they were young,
dumb, and wanted a tattoo. It's your body so you should feel safe and secure
and comfortable with what you're getting. Also don't go out drinking after you
get tattooed i made that mistake once and it bled all night."
Seeing as though I am an expert
procrastinator, here are a few of the projects for my Communications class that
I just finished. Enjoy!
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