Inspired by Sailors

I had always been fascinated with tattoos.

My daddy has two from his Navy days and I always loved them. When I was little we would go down to the Long Beach Pike to enjoy the rides on the Boardwalk. I loved to look in the windows of the tattoo shops to watch the sailors getting their tattoos.

As an adult, I wanted a tattoo, but my husband was not in favor of it. Then, after my divorce from a 32-year marriage, one of my sons took me to Empire Tattoos in Riverside and got me the Celtic Triskele with the names of my four Sons surrounding it. We placed it between my shoulder blades, to symbolize that my sons would always have my back. This tattoo was a present for my 50th Birthday. Sadly, I don't remember the artist name.

My larger lower back tattoo was done by Mike Angel, owner of From The Hood 2 You Tattoo. Mike has been a friend since childhood. When I approached him with my rough draft, the idea and meaning behind it, he came up with the Broken Heart Design.

My other tattoo was done at a house party. I don't remember the artists name, but the meaning to me, of the Shamrock on my ankle, reminds me of the "Power of 3".

Bobbi Aguirre - Riverside, CA, USA

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