Tattoo
I forget that I have this tattoo. I only remember it on sunny days when I am wearing a tank top and someone in the store comments upon it. It's a macaw and there's a long story to it. A sad and yet sweet story.
Some years ago my brother was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had never smoked but we grew up in a household with second hand smoke. You could see a cloud of smoke hanging in the living room where we watched TV at night.
My brother was funny and kookie. He could make anyone laugh and he had this way about him that was very forgiving. It didn't matter what I did he always forgave me and loved me. He was also a supreme nut, hatching these weird plans.
One of his plans was that we all get a tattoo so that when he passed on it would act as a rememberance. He suggested I get one around my collar bone so that everytime I looked in the mirror I would see it and think of him. He and my sister-in-law and their kids lived in San Diego and one day my brother, myself and my son, who was then a teenager, drove down to Mexico to a tattoo parlor my brother had been to before.
My brother went first, I went second and my son third. I was too chicken to have the tattoo near my collar bone because it seemed like it would be too painful. So I opted to have it on my back where there was more fat. I have to honestly tell you -- if you haven't had a tattoo before -- it hurt! I didn't think I would be able to go through with it but then after about a minute the endorphins kicked in and I didn't feel anything.
I was very lucky in that I got to talk to my brother on the phone the night he died. I cannot tell you how much this means to me. He told me he was okay and I intuitvely knew this would be the last time I would talk to him. I treasure this conversation.
I flew down to San Diego the next day to be with my sister-in-law and to help prepare the funeral. That night I slept in my niece's room and this was when a series of strange events began happening that I am positive were orchestrated by my kookie brother.
In the middle of the night I woke up to somebody talking. I was sleeping in my niece's room and finally discovered it was her Chatty Kathy doll. This doll was fiercely saying her list of things she was programmed to say over and over again. Freaked out, I turned off her little switch but she just chatted away. My sister-in-law woke up and we took the batteries out and after a while she finally stopped.
The next day the computer in their living room kept powering up and powering down on its own. All kinds of electronic oddities kept happening. When a neighbor came by she said someone kept pulling her ponytail. This was something my brother used to do, coming up behind her and giving it a friendly yank.
I came home to San Francisco a few days later and these oddities continued. When I opened my refrigerator I found that all the liquids had exploded. I'd had a quart-sized container of spiralina, a green drink, and it, plus everything else, was all over everything. While I was cleaning it up the TV turned itself on.
I loved these occurrences because they told me my brother was still about. His energy was causing these things. This went on for exactly two weeks and then one night everything changed.
I was sitting on my bed when I felt this uncanny energy. I knew that my brother was being taken away from me. I felt this sensation of him being taken far away, so far that I would never hear from him again. I fought against this but it was no use. The energy was much more powerful than me. And then he was gone.
In the past twelve years I've had two occurrences where I've seen my brother. Once, I was in Blockbuster Video standing in line and I looked up to see him standing in front of me. It was his neck, his haircut. The other time was when I was out doing errands and I saw him walking down the street. I stood frozen in the moment, taking him in. I was so happy.
Most of the time I forget about the tattoo. I don't even remember it's there until someone points it out to me. They always think it's a parrot and tell me how pretty it is.
My brother has been dead for some years now. He was the one who got the good personality and could make anybody laugh. I love my brother and I will always remember him...
Tattoo
I forget that I have this tattoo. I only remember it on sunny days when I am wearing a tank top and someone in the store comments upon it. It's a macaw and there's a long story to it. A sad and yet sweet story.
Some years ago my brother was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had never smoked but we grew up in a household with second hand smoke. You could see a cloud of smoke hanging in the living room where we watched TV at night.
My brother was funny and kookie. He could make anyone laugh and he had this way about him that was very forgiving. It didn't matter what I did he always forgave me and loved me. He was also a supreme nut, hatching these weird plans.
One of his plans was that we all get a tattoo so that when he passed on it would act as a rememberance. He suggested I get one around my collar bone so that everytime I looked in the mirror I would see it and think of him. He and my sister-in-law and their kids lived in San Diego and one day my brother, myself and my son, who was then a teenager, drove down to Mexico to a tattoo parlor my brother had been to before.
My brother went first, I went second and my son third. I was too chicken to have the tattoo near my collar bone because it seemed like it would be too painful. So I opted to have it on my back where there was more fat. I have to honestly tell you -- if you haven't had a tattoo before -- it hurt! I didn't think I would be able to go through with it but then after about a minute the endorphins kicked in and I didn't feel anything.
I was very lucky in that I got to talk to my brother on the phone the night he died. I cannot tell you how much this means to me. He told me he was okay and I intuitvely knew this would be the last time I would talk to him. I treasure this conversation.
I flew down to San Diego the next day to be with my sister-in-law and to help prepare the funeral. That night I slept in my niece's room and this was when a series of strange events began happening that I am positive were orchestrated by my kookie brother.
In the middle of the night I woke up to somebody talking. I was sleeping in my niece's room and finally discovered it was her Chatty Kathy doll. This doll was fiercely saying her list of things she was programmed to say over and over again. Freaked out, I turned off her little switch but she just chatted away. My sister-in-law woke up and we took the batteries out and after a while she finally stopped.
The next day the computer in their living room kept powering up and powering down on its own. All kinds of electronic oddities kept happening. When a neighbor came by she said someone kept pulling her ponytail. This was something my brother used to do, coming up behind her and giving it a friendly yank.
I came home to San Francisco a few days later and these oddities continued. When I opened my refrigerator I found that all the liquids had exploded. I'd had a quart-sized container of spiralina, a green drink, and it, plus everything else, was all over everything. While I was cleaning it up the TV turned itself on.
I loved these occurrences because they told me my brother was still about. His energy was causing these things. This went on for exactly two weeks and then one night everything changed.
I was sitting on my bed when I felt this uncanny energy. I knew that my brother was being taken away from me. I felt this sensation of him being taken far away, so far that I would never hear from him again. I fought against this but it was no use. The energy was much more powerful than me. And then he was gone.
In the past twelve years I've had two occurrences where I've seen my brother. Once, I was in Blockbuster Video standing in line and I looked up to see him standing in front of me. It was his neck, his haircut. The other time was when I was out doing errands and I saw him walking down the street. I stood frozen in the moment, taking him in. I was so happy.
Most of the time I forget about the tattoo. I don't even remember it's there until someone points it out to me. They always think it's a parrot and tell me how pretty it is.
My brother has been dead for some years now. He was the one who got the good personality and could make anybody laugh. I love my brother and I will always remember him...