Meeting strangers in an airport is quite an experience and you can never plan whom you will meet. Alice and I were waiting for our flight from Chicago to London two weeks ago.
She was a pretty English girl with blond hair, green-blue eyes, and all coupled with a nice smile. She was a medical student returning to the United Kingdom after a two-month training in one of the local hospitals in Belize.
She was wearing sandals, and I noticed a tattoo that I could not completely see or figure out. Curious as I am always, I begged her pardon and inquired about it. She told me that she had the tattoo done to remember a close family member who had passed away. She added that she had to wait almost a year to get it done because her tattooist had a waiting list.
“Was it painful?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered. "The cage signifies the loss of freedom or life.” She explained the feeling she continues to live after her relative passed away.
I asked if I could take a picture of her tattoo. Without hesitation, she removed her sandal.
She was a pretty English girl with blond hair, green-blue eyes, and all coupled with a nice smile. She was a medical student returning to the United Kingdom after a two-month training in one of the local hospitals in Belize.
She was wearing sandals, and I noticed a tattoo that I could not completely see or figure out. Curious as I am always, I begged her pardon and inquired about it. She told me that she had the tattoo done to remember a close family member who had passed away. She added that she had to wait almost a year to get it done because her tattooist had a waiting list.
“Was it painful?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered. "The cage signifies the loss of freedom or life.” She explained the feeling she continues to live after her relative passed away.
I asked if I could take a picture of her tattoo. Without hesitation, she removed her sandal.
Birds and a cage
On my way back from the United Kingdom, I was sitting near Gate G16 at the Airport in Chicago, two seats away from a lady that was busy typing on her computer laptop. She was wearing a pair pants and had her legs crossed. Part of her ankle was showing, and I thought I saw part of tattoo of a bird. I remembered Alice's tattoo of birds and a cage. "Am I only seeing tattoos of birds?" I thought.
I thought for a while how I could interrupt the lady and inquire about her tattoo without appearing creepy or strange.
"Excuse me, Miss, is that a tattoo of a bird on your leg?" I asked.
Without hesitation, she lifted the edge of her khaki pants to display a beautiful bird.
"It signifies hope and life," she said. "This is from the story in the bible when Noah was on the boat after the deluge."
When the pigeon came back with a fig tree branch, Noah learned there was land out there and that he will survive. At the end of the branch is one broken part of a heart. Stephanie said that a very good friend of hers has the other half of the heart."
I thought for a while how I could interrupt the lady and inquire about her tattoo without appearing creepy or strange.
"Excuse me, Miss, is that a tattoo of a bird on your leg?" I asked.
Without hesitation, she lifted the edge of her khaki pants to display a beautiful bird.
"It signifies hope and life," she said. "This is from the story in the bible when Noah was on the boat after the deluge."
When the pigeon came back with a fig tree branch, Noah learned there was land out there and that he will survive. At the end of the branch is one broken part of a heart. Stephanie said that a very good friend of hers has the other half of the heart."
Bird returning with a fig tree branch.
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