Belated Responses

 Finally, finally, life has settled down, and I can respond to the comments several of you left on my last posting (8/30/22). I simply cannot figure out how to respond to your comments on my blog page. It’s the Google signing in that defeats me. So, I’m doing what I consider the next best thing: printing your comments here with your name and then responding. I hope this works for those of you who left a comment. 

 

Cynthia:

Ruby is just precious, and your tattoo is perfect! I know you are enjoying it and all it stands for, along with the memories of the day you got it. Dee, you are truly amazing!

 

Dee:

Dear Cynthia, I do continue to enjoy Arthur’s face on my forearm. As I type—even now—I can look down and see those eyes and feel that all is well in my world. Peace.

 

Sue:

I love that Arthur is permanently a part of you - as he was from when you were first given him all those years ago. This is a delightful post, Dee. Thank you. And you ARE amazing.

 

 

Dee:

He  truly was a gift when I was five and so lonely, missing my parents and brother. No one ever knew about him and his presence until 1976 when, inadvertently, I let his presence and that of the Three Presences from the convent, slip out. The memoir on which I’m working will talk about all this. I so hope I can do  justice to the four of them. Peace. 

 

Jean:

She did an amazing job with your Arthur tattoo. I'm happy for you that you got it, and it was a memorable experience.

 

 

Dee: 

Dear Jean, it truly was memorable. Ruby didn’t talk while she was working except to explain anything I asked. She’d made a template of her drawing of Arthur—from the figurine—and pressed that template on my skin and then did something I didn’t see and then began with the ink and the needle. I felt nothing but deep contentment as Arthur’s face slowly revealed itself. Peace. 

 

DJan:

What a wonderful experience! And you shared it so well. I especially like the third from the last photo, not just of the tattoo but of you, too. Thank you for sharing this with me!!!

 

 

Dee:

Dear DJan, thanks for mentioning the photo you liked. To be truthful, that’s the photo in which I thought I looked as if I were “three sheets to the wind”!!!! Also, I see that I posted that photo twice! But perhaps I miscounted and the photo you are talking about is the one of Ruby and me. She is such a love. Peace. 

 

 

Jo-Anne:

What a great experience, I would love another tattoo.

 

 

Dee:

Dear Jo-Anne: And I’d love to read a posting about your tattoos! Or at least see photographs of them. Hint! Hint! Peace.

 

Joared:

That's a very good reproduction of Arthur -- always with you now.

 

 

Dee: 

Dear Joared, yes, she captured him. And I find myself looking at him as I type or wash my hands or prepare a sandwich. The truth is, and this may sound strange, but I seem to have plunged into a pool of serenity in the last few months since Arthur came to be imprinted on my arm. Peace. 

 

Joanne:

Arthur is a fine fellow, and now lives on your arm as well as in your heart. Elisa and Ruby as point and counterpoint made for a lovely afternoon. Job well done, all.

 

 

Dee:

Dear Joanne, I so like your terms “point” and “counterpoint.” I hadn’t thought of that, and it just tickles my fancy. And, yes, the afternoon was lovely. Meeting her mentors was a delight. One of them will appear in my next posting—about a motorcycle ride. Peace. 

 

 

Patti:
I am delighted that Arthur is now with you wherever you go. Ruby nailed the image and I love how you entertained the other artists and clients. Bet they are still talking about that neat lady they met and her cool tattoo.

 

Dee:

Dear Patti, I’m not sure about their continuing to talk about our conversation in the tattoo parlor, but I bet that they do shake their heads every time they think of meeting a nun who laughed loudly, belly shaking, and shared stories of riotous times in the convent. Peace. 

 

Linda:

Good for you! I got my first tattoo when I was 70, and the second-and-final one at 72.

 

Dee:

Dear Linda, so good to find a comment from you. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited your blog, but I will do that sometime soon. I’ve truly been an on-again/off-again blogger for the last several years. 

 

I’d love to see photos of your two tattoos and hear the stories behind them. I plan on getting one more also—it will be written—in my mother’s script--on my left forearm and say, “Dolores, you find what you look for.” That was one of the most instructive legacies she left me. In some ways, it is the bedrock of my life. Peace. 

 

Rian:

Love the pictures, Dee... and the tattoo. I do have a question (just curious), when you decided you wanted the tattoo, how did you decide where you wanted it?

 

Dee:

Dear Rian, I knew that the entire body could be and has been for many the canvas for tattoos. However, I have for the past two years been trying to write a memoir, and the threads that hold it together have eluded me. 

 

When Ruby began her career, the thought came that perhaps being able to sit here at the computer and type and look down at my right arm and see Arthur’s gentle eyes and his abiding love for me would help me find the way through this labyrinth of a memoir. Peace.

 

 

 

Inger:

Ruby did a great job. I love the pictures, #6 of 14 is my favorite. It's so wonderful to see you all together and having such a great time.

 

Dee:

Dear Inger, I, too, especially like that photograph. My long-sleeved t-shirt with the stained-glass window effect also pleases me mightily! Peace.

 

 

Dee’s Comment on the Posting:

You know, one question didn’t come up in these welcomed responses from you, the readers who are so dear to me in Oneness. That question is, “Why no color to the tattoo?” The answer is that I have a form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma—a skin cancer labeled “mycosis fungoides.” In its early stage, this cancer reveals itself in pale pink patches on my skin. These patches are sometimes active and sometimes not. When they are, I do light treatments three times a week and/or use a cream medication. When active, the patches are seen because of the pale color. 

 

When I spoke to the dermatologist whom I see every few months about getting a tattoo, she was enthusiastic, but said that I couldn’t have color because that would hide the active stage of the cancer. 

 

Ruby’s artistic ability, I think, truly shows in Arthur’s tattoo because the black seems shaded, in some places, and thus “colored.” Peace.