You know what this thread made me think of?

http://i50.tinypic.com/10h3lsp.jpg

I'm already "old" by some people's standards, which is their problem not mine if they want to say I shouldn't do what I want to do because they think I'm old (and wrinkled lol).

So absolutely, I say folks who want a tat should get a tat 'cause you only live once, or twice, maybe three times, tops, or ...

That said, I HAVE always wanted to do it and haven't done so because of fear of pain.

I love the pic posted above and not because I think it is funny. I think the older version of the man is more interesting than the younger because he has had those tats for a lifetime and they are a part of him. And I DO believe his grandkids probably think he is special, even though they may not say so.

I think tattoos are awesome, but as far as getting one myself, I don't think I'd ever be able to settle on any one design I'd like to have on my skin. Well, at least not permanently. I'm even an artist and have plenty of my own designs in mind that would be meaningful to me, but the odds are that years down the road I'll see all sorts of mistakes in the artwork or something, like I do now with drawings I did just a few years ago. :lol: I've occasionally thought about henna or temporary tattoos for a special occasion, and I used to do my own face painting sometimes. :)

The way I see it, if you're that worried about how it'll look when you're old, don't get it! I've seen tons of tats I love but only will get ones I know I would never be ashamed of someday. Placement is an important thing to remember. The closest thing I have to a regret regarding my tats is I wish I would've thought more about job opportunities lol the musical note heart on my inner forearm in memorial to my mom is much loved but does make certain jobs unattainable. (I'd never get it removed though lol it means too much). Hopefully someday tats won't be an issue...except for massively offensive tats like my ex had because when you put F you and a hand flipping someone off in a visible spot you screw yourself lol

i love that picture fuct! thats lyle tuttle, he was janis joplins tattoo artist, i actually got to meet him in seattle when i was 13 and he is one of the coolest people you will ever meet!

It's silly really. You're going to look like a wrinkled bag of A$$ at some point, either way, right? Might as well decorate yourself with pretty pictures when you're not (if you want to). My husband has tattoos over probably 1/3 of his body. They look pretty rad right now. I'm not worried about it.

I only have a little one on my back. I'd have a lot more if I'd had the time/opportunity to get them.

This thread reminded me of this poem:

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

I'm much more concered about what my boobs will look like when I'm old then what my tattoos will look like when I'm old. And honestly...I'm not that concered about my breasts (push-up bras and plastic surgery, solutions already exist).

I never understand "Aren't you worried you'll regret that when you're old?", line of thinking either. Of course I will! I hope to be 80 years old and sit around regretting a lot of the things I did in my youth. My word, that's what youth is for! Making mistakes you can look back on when you're old! Otherwise you'll have nothing to talk about in the old age home over green jello. Everyone else will have cool stories and all you'll have is "No, I didn't do anything. I was afraid I'd regret when I was old".

My great-uncle is in his 60s, he just started getting tattoos a few years ago. When he was a young buck only bikers and guys in the navy had tattoos (this is what he told me), so he never got any. Then he got older and decided he wanted to get one for one of his grandchildren that had passed away. And well, once you get one, you end up with more and more. He loves getting them. I was with him once when someone remarked to him that it was a bit odd to be getting fresh tattoos at his age, especially as his skin was starting to sag at his age, his repley was great "The skins gonna get saggy and wrinkly with or without a tattoo. At least this way it has some cool colors!", then he paid for me to get a new tattoo. :)

Seriously, when I'm old, no longer able to care for myself, dying of some sort of man-created disease, attempting to enjoy my last years with my family, I'm sure my thoughts won't be "dang, I wish I didn't have tattoos on me to remind me of my youth and all the good times I had." And really, I don't care what people think about them now; I can't imagine people's opinions are going to start mattering to me while I'm walking closer and closer to the end of the line.

I think there's a difference in getting tattoos just to get them and getting them because they mean something.

Good post! I currently have 4 tatts and 5 piercings and I feel I wont regret them at all when I get old. By that time, I'll be too old to care lol. I plan on getting more tatts for rewards for weight loss goals, as money allows anyhow. :)

One of those old sayings which is so true.

It's not the things we do in life that we regret when we get older.
It's the things we wanted to do but didn't.

At 66 I am really coming to understand the truth of this saying.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...51429368_n.jpg I look forward to growing old with my tattoos~

Okay... Couldn't resist....One more.. https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...31635471_n.jpg

That's so funny!

You are going to be old and wrinkly anyway. At least you can look back on your life and remember you did some cool things.

I just got my first tattoo over the summer right before I turned 30. I may get more and I figure with all the new advancements they have in plastic surgery, medicine, etc there will be a way to have the tattoo look "refreshed". Assuming no one is working on it right now. But anyway, I'm sick of a society that tells you, especially women what is considered "too old" to do. Why is it, as a child, we are constantly told we are too young but once we grow up we are told we are getting too old.