It was in the late 1940s when the circus came to town with its elephants, bears and tigers. They took the animals off the train cars and walked them through town to a big tent. It was all very exciting. These were the days way before being politically correct and the circus came with a side show. There was a fat lady, a midget, a tall skinny guy, a snake charmer and for two cents you could see the tattooed lady from far away Borneo. (She was probably from Brooklyn.) My mother would have had a fit if she had known my father had taken me inside.
It all came back to me this afternoon at Denny’s. A scantily clad tattooed woman paraded by our table. I didn’t even have to pay two cents. She looked askance at me for staring. But really isn’t that what she wanted?
Most of the time I wish to be invisible but there are times when I do want to be seen. Those are the times I want people to see Jesus. I’m not too wild about that when just walking down the street but if I am in the classroom or with a group of friends I do so hope my demeanor would radiate the love and kindness of the One I wish to be like. He told us people will know who we are if we have love for one another. While I do not have any tattoos there is one I wish I had. No not a picture of a sailing ship or my dog. I wish to have Jesus tattooed on my heart. Just maybe someone will know.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 1, 2015
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org