On Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:42:53 -0800, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Sqwertz > wrote:
>
>> The number of tattoo shops in Austin has pretty tripled in the last
>> 18 months. And there are several hundred more competent tattoo
>> artists in Austin that work out of the home that can almost make a
>> living just by word of mouth advertising. Not to mention the
>> jailhouse artists.
>
>I'm all for getting tattoos when you turn sixty. They'll be legible when
>you croak. A great friend of mine signed up for the Marines the day
>after Pearl Harbor and got the tattoo "Death Before Dishonor" below a
>skull with a knife through it on his forearm. I got to know him in 1977.
>His badge of honor was a bluish blotch.

Just a lousy job, lousy skin, or both... when done correctly with
quality inks there's no reason a tat will deteriorate any more rapidly
than ones skin deteriorates. I have tats I got in 1961, still in
suprisingly great condition. I would advise to choose a location
carefully, especially women, do not have a tat placed where there's
likelyhood of sag, stretch marks, and cellulite. I also don't think
it wise to choose a spot that can't be easily covered with
clothing.... even today with society's claim of liberal permissiveness
visible tats greatly limit ones employment opportunities.