Transformation

The day after tomorrow I'm altering a piece of art I've shouldered for 14 years. It's my ex's name, which I had done by Mike Malone at Sailor Jerry's old shop in Honolulu's Chinatown. I was 24 and thought it was forever, and it might have been, but she didn't want to have a child. That was the deal breaker, finally, and we broke up six years ago. I was ambivalent about changing the tattoo for a long time -- it's a big part of my past and represents who I've been and continue to be. But it's time. I'm having her turned into a mermaid.