old people tattoos

so there are usually these 2 caveats when getting a tattoo. "this is something that is going to be on your body forever" and "it may very well look like crap when you are older."

while these are legitimate concerns, i was standing in line at the grocery store today and noticed that i kinda like old guys with tattoos.  there's just something about an old man in his flat-brimmed VFW hat, suspenders, and some gibberish on his arms that could have been a pin-up or a pirate ship, who knows now.

usually when we see someone older, or of any age, really, we tend to think of them only in terms of the age they are now.  we don't always remember that every old person was once as young, headstrong, and stupid as we are.  that's what i like about the old man tattoos, it reminds me that he wasn't born a crotchety 86 year old senior citizen, he was once young and rebellious too.

nothing really profound to take out of this, just a commentary.  *shrug*