picture perplexing

An odd thing happened to me on the way home from work.

I was walking along on 8th St. at around 6:00 pm (so it was getting dark), and had just walked under the O St. overpass (as I do every day on the way home from work). It had been cold in the morning, so I was wearing my nice, full-length wool topcoat and my God scarf (that's another story), but at the time it wasn't all that chilly so I had the coat unbuttoned and the scarf loosely draped across my neck. The coat was held together a bit by the strap of my messenger bag, slung from my right shoulder diagonally across my body. So far, all this is rather mundane, but you can judge the relevance as you read on.

As I was walking down the sidewalk past Jack's Bar and Grill, I noticed a girl (late teens to mid-20s, it appeared) walking down the same sidewalk in the opposite direction, about half a block ahead of me. The girl reached into her purse, pulled out a digital camera, flipped it open, pointed it directly at me, and snapped a flash photo. She then calmly closed the camera, put it back in her purse, and continued on. I made eye contact as we passed on the sidewalk, but only got the sort of polite, terse little smile that people give to random people they make eye contact with on the sidewalk.

Now, I have no idea what this girl was doing. The only thing I can think is that there was either something going on directly behind me of which I was unaware, or that the situation, framed by overpass, perhaps some smoking exhaust, etc. was just a sort of generically photogenic scene. I don't know.

But it was a little surreal.

on honor

For those of you who don't know, I went ahead and got the tattoo described in the earlier post. It's now permanently inscribed on my right forearm, from near the elbow to about halfway up the wrist. So that happened.

Subsequently, I've had a few people ask me why "honor" is so important, why that was worth getting a tattoo about. Well, that's a tough question. About the best I can say is that being an honorable man is the ideal that I strive more than any other. I'm not too concerned about wealth or knowledge or righteousness or even truth. For me, the main ideal is honor.

Culturally, that word is a little loose, so here's the best description I could come up with; for a man to act with honor is for him to do all of the things he is responsible for and only the things he has a right to do. Not is right to do, mind you, but things he has a right to do. Some things that happen are not right--they are not just or moral or good--but they are things that a man may not have the right to prevent. It's a rough concept, and not one for which I have explicit rules. But that's the ideal for which I strive. I can't say I fulfill it always; I do fail, just like everyone else.

But that's what's tattooed on my arm. Honor. Right where I can see it, right where I can read it. For the rest of my life.

I hope that's enough explanation to suit you all.

branding

So, I'm a crazy person. Right, now on to business.

For some reason, I was struck tonight with an intense, irrational desire to get drunk and get a tattoo. I don't know why. Regardless, whenever the idea of a tattoo comes up, I generally lean toward getting something done in Ogham, which is an ancient Celtic script usually found carved onto standing monoliths and things. It's pretty simple stuff; lines of various lengths carved either orthogonal or oblique to some center stroke. In any case, I think it usually looks neat.

So, with that settled, I had to decide on a word. I picked the Irish word for "honor"/"respect" (onóir, pretty much pronounced the same), just because I felt like it. So, I looked that up in Ogham and drew up what it would look like (that's the picture posted below, read from bottom-to-top).



On basically a whim, I thought that would be nice on the inside of my right forearm (with the bottom near my elbow, up to the wrist), so I drew it on with magic marker to test it out for a bit. I could get used to it, especially if it was done by someone with any talent (i.e., not drawn by me with my left hand on my right arm).

Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that, so I did more research. Apparently, each letter in the Ogham alphabet was associated with a tree sacred to the druids (so sayeth the Internet) and each tree was associated with some sort of mystical/divinatory properties. So, here's a brief description.

• gorse/furze (o) - A yellow, flowering shrub. Signifies finding that which is sought, abundant knowledge and blessings, and invokes a reminder to share of this bounty.
• ash (n) - The tree, obviously. Associated with interconnectedness and a recognition that one's problems and questions are not his alone. Urges one to recognize the effects of his actions and to balance himself with the world.
• gorse/furze (ó) - I just want to spell out the whole word.
  
• yew (i) - An evergreen tree with poisonous berries, used to make bows and things. Heralds a coming change, or perhaps the recognition that nothing lasts forever and one should let go of the past.
• elder (r) - A hearty, fast-growing shrub. Represents renewal and the cyclical nature of life, with change bringing newfound creativity.

Anyway, that's been my night.