tattoos
roughtly a decade and a half ago I rode my motorcycle cross country

while staying in the bay area I took a ride one Sunday morning from Mill Valley (the base of Mount Tam) to the Blue Buddha in Oakland
it was a trip more like a day at the dentist office than a tattoo parlor i
t took place on a Sunday morning not a Friday night
I was stone cold sober and had a clear head
my design came with me and not off a wall
not quite the story of a sailor on leave
but I have a number of stories that are told with that flavor.. so it is fine if this tale is told differently

there was pain... but not from a drill
got the back side of the Buffalo Nickel tattoed on the shoulder of my right arm
my little piece of America
my red, white, and blue
my American Flag
a statement of my love and distain for this beautiful yet ugly country
a country of freedom
a country of oppression
the Buffalo represents the great west and wonderful freedom
yet we nearly drove this animal to extinction
through hunting and isolation
this once wild animal that lived a nomadic life is now forced to live out its life in a more confined state

that said... around that same time I had considered getting a stamp with a postmark with the year and location on the postmark
this was not the stamp in my head at that time
yet this stamp gets the idea across just the same

not sure why I am telling this tale
guess the Jefferson Nickel has me jumping from tangent to tangent