I guess if we're going to talk meaning of tattoos, the reason I have a friend's name across my toes is because he's a long time friend I grew up with, who died in a moped accident about 6 years ago, when he was 18. Jay was one of the best people I've ever ever met, funny and compassionate, just one of those bright bright light kind of people. Someone you knew would go on to do great things. I bought a moped, and he came into town to ride with me. He gave me a helmet, and about two weeks after that he came into town and we rode around again. He got into an accident that night on his way home, no helmet. It's hard to not feel responsible, and though I've learned to cope with it, it still eats away at me sometimes.
I have his hair sewn into my dread as well. I keep him around so I don't forget to be at least half as awesome as he was going to be. It's been 6 years but I still miss him dearly. While I was on tour I ran into someone I'd never met who had dreads, only to find out she went to high school with him, and got dreads after he did. She's going to send me some of his old writing I don't have. Weird world.
