Do You Have Any Tattoos?

There seem to be a lot of tattoo parlors (as I've always heard them called) in Austin. You would therefore expect to see a lot of tattoos. And you do. Especially if you go to the right places. Shop at Whole Foods, Wheatsville, Thundercloud, Amy's and most independent coffee shops and you are likely to be waited on by people with tattoos, piercings and hair colors not found in nature. I wouldn't do any of these things myself but I enjoy the show.

On Sunday while the world hung on the Super Bowl, I went shopping and to a movie with a friend, getting home in time to see the dramatic final minutes live instead of watching off the DVR. We were on South Lamar and needed a refreshing drink so we went to a coffee shop in a small strip center. The shop shared the space with a tattoo parlor, a piercing salon and a hair salon where I bet you can get purple or green hair. I shot this picture of the tattoo parlor's window (it is Rock of Ages Tattoo) and, when we'd settled into Irie Bean Coffee Bar for our drink, I mentioned that the place was pleasant and, what's more, you might see people with interesting tattoos while sitting there. A large man in overalls came in with hardly any visible skin not decorated. "Sometimes you say something and it materializes," said my companion.