Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Love, Loyalty, My Fatherhood, Otis, Tattoo
Back in May I wrote a post about tattoos.
Specifically my tattoos.
In it, I talked about how I got my first one aged 42 during a holiday in Los Angeles, and now 14 years later I’ve got loads of them.
However, unlike some people who have them for the sake of having them, all mine are – unsurprisingly – personal and sentimental.
Birthdays.
Postcodes.
Phone numbers.
Signatures.
Names, pictures and paws of pets.
Honoring Mum, Dad, Jill, Otis and China.
Personal philosophies and heroes.
Nottingham Forest and Queen.
Some weird shit for some friends.
And nods to LA, UK, NZ and Italy.
I then wrote about how Otis had asked if any were for him and after showing him the ones of his name and date of birth … he pointed out that they were tattoos I had chosen for him, rather than ones he had wanted me to have.
So being a sucker, I asked him what would be a tattoo he would like me to have for him and quick as a flash he said:
Rice Is Life.
Yep … rice is fucking life?!!!
Now to be fair to him, he loves rice.
Has it every day.
He loves the taste, texture and the fact it represents the country where he was born: China.
But that’s not the only reason he wanted that inked on my body … it’s because he’s a wonderful mischievous little bugger who knew it was kinda-ridiculous and would look kinda-ridiculous.
The thing is, he didn’t take into account 2 rather important considerations in his suggestion.
The first is that I love him far more than any potential embarrassment he would like to subject me to.
The second is if I’m going to permanently mark my body with something HE chose, he needs to consider it a gift, not a prank.
It’s Otis’ 12th birthday on the 11th December and he’s hoping for a new keyboard as his present.
Guess what he’s got …
I love you with all my heart Otis.
And I love this ridiculous tattoo because it’s for you, from you and about you.
But a word of advice that may serve you well for the future …
While I love your cheeky, mischievous spirit and hope it always remains, be careful who you expose it to.
Because when the other party is also a mischievous little sod, they’ll always find a way to make your mischief come back on you in some way.
Happy early birthday present my love. Hahahaha.