In my early 20's I was clearing a river lot. Right before I had to leave for the day I decided to burn all the brush I cleared in a big fire pit we had dug for camp fires. After watching way too much tv and watching them douse things in gasoline and lighting it with a match, well I doused the brush with the gas for the chainsaw and bent down with a Bic lighter and flicked it. Next thing I know I'm engulfed in flames, blown backwards......I let a blood curling woman scream and dove in the river. I loaded up the dog, chainsaw etc and drove to the hospital. When I walked in with black skin peeling off, seeping blood I scared the bejeezes out of a EMT and then nurses went into action trying to cool my skin etc... I just laid there and shook. For the next 3 weeks I took two whirlpool baths a day while they peeled skin from both my arms and my face. Luckily after the whole ordeal all I was left with was a ring around my arms where the short sleeves stopped the burns and a couple scars that follow my vein on my bicep. My face....fine. (well). LOL All these years later it remains with me because of the ring around my arm and the scar so I decided to get a tattoo about it. I wanted an arm band so instead of some of the standard barbed wire etc every Joe Smoe has, I had them free draw and get a custom fire arm band. I loved how it turned out. Tattoos are not for everyone so if you don't care about them. Move on, I simply don't care. :p 3 Hours later,
NIce, I like that is has such meaning too. I'll be getting another one in a few weeks, covering up a dumb adolescent drunken mistake Everytime I get one I always swear it will be my last, lol. This new one is going a family tree-ish thing, gonna be huge. I have yet to get one for hunting, that is next on the list, however.
Sweet, got a half sleeve planned for quite awhile now. We are trying for our second little one so I want to wait so I can incorporate him/her into it as well. Alot of time and money so I do not want to go back and add something. Again, great tat bro...very original.
Very nice! I'm working on a sleeve. Have much more to get done. There will be color all in between the black work and from the elbow up will be all color. Gonna gray scale some of it right around the elbow so we can bleed the color from the top part of my arm down into the black work. It is taking way to long but I'm trying to draw the pieces myself. Only a couple pieces are flash. My upper part of my arm is gonna have a koi, dragon, and Kabuki mask all in there with mix of water, land, and sea filling it out. Might even try to throw a panda or two in there. I just need to stop being lazy and get drawing.
great story to tell bout your tat! i have a few, and would LOVE to get a bunch more but not real condusive to my job...
Great tat and story Rob, My next one is gonna be firefighter related on my side. Looking forward to it.
I'm not a tat fan.... but with that story and all.... I think it's PERFECT. Great story although I know it hurt like hell at the time. I think they did a great job with the fire. Good for you. P.S. You could have shown it without the arm pit hair. EWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeee P.P.S. Oh,... I forgot... LOL But anyway.....nice job.
Looks pretty cool Rob! Man that's a spooky story. I worked a few calls similar to that in my days as a FF/EMT. Ain't no doubt that hurt like hell. I can't imagine. Glad it turned out as well as it did for ya. I know of a couple that it didn't.
Thats a great tribute to what you went through Rob. My first thought looking at the first photo was your new tat and shirt matched, all flamed out!
No plans to, ANY time soon. I'm not planning on doing the 1/2 until 2011. 3 sprints, this summer. HM in Oct.....OLY in spring....Long course in summer....and the HIM in Sept. 2011. I have NO desire to do the full IM, period. But, I'll leave 1/2 "open", just in case. I can always get it filled in.
