your heart on my sleeve.

[Simon of the Playa]

every year since 2002 i have tattooed names on my arm.

at first, so i could afford the journey across country on my motorcycle. I sold them at a penny a mile, $28.80 a line, as it is approx. 2880 miles from here, to there, and i also like the numerological implications.

after a while it became ritual, and now it is a tradition.

i have well over 300 names of people, places, things, pets, websites etc. on my arms so far.

all of them have some meaning.

this year, in keeping with my own personal theme, i am giving them away...no charge...free.

i have 33 spaces, and only 33 spaces left.....

so i offer them to you, eplaya.

Here's the catch, its not about you....Send me a name, and a brief explanation on why you love this person or pet or thing, and why you want them on my sleeve.

you must be an eplaya member to participate in this, so if you are lurking, you better join already.

i will pick the best 33 requests and will close the window on july 22nd, so this is time sensitive.

send all requests by PM, i will post the winners after the deadline in this thread, with the explanations (anonymously) and the final list.

sleeveproject.jpg

it's official, the countdown has begun...

[lucky420]

you truly are a lovely man

dont worry i wont tell anybody

[Lonesomebri]

...and he just keeps giving....

Hey, I figure you probably totally rock it out there on playa and get way more action than I can imagine, so I'm thinking that my phone number on your flesh is the kind of angle I need.

867-5309

[Simon of the Playa]

if you can't get laid wearing a BRCCP patch, then you can't get laid...




you should do just fine...


keep the requests coming folks, i have to go get some more kleenex though...

[Dr Helix]

...and he just keeps giving....

Hey, I figure you probably totally rock it out there on playa and get way more action than I can imagine, so I'm thinking that my phone number on your flesh is the kind of angle I need.

867-5309

You just let those ladies know you're lead coin layer for the Penny the Goose project. The girls will be MAD for you then!

[mgb327]

Simon, I think I have 4 names on you already. That is enough, as those that meant the most to me are already there. My "needs/wants" are met, I don't want to take away any space for another person with a name to put on you. Thanks for what you have of me now, you carry a lot of my history on your arms. A load lightened by your generosity..... Maybe in the future? Who knows......

[LeChatNoir]

You're a pretty swell guy, Simon. I'm glad I know you. You make the world a little bit better every day.

[Jovankat]

I'll send you a PM with a more detailed explanation for "Husfriend" in the next couple of days.

[Savannah]

I love this!

[digital]

I love this!

Me too! What a neat and interesting thing to give.

[Bless]

What an awesome gift, Simon. Kudos. Alternatively, you could post a selection of your event posters from years past and have ePlayans vote on their favorite. The winner gets tattooed on your other butt.

[media]

[Simon of the Playa]

Jovankat, i will put your Husfriend's name on...


your story is already known, and i would like to do that for you and yours.


one slot has your choice of name on it


bless wrote:

your other butt.

im afraid both cheeks have already been "turned"...

[Lonesomebri]

Hey, can I change my request? As long as both Lucky and Savannah have already seen my phone number here on this post, there's no further need to muddy that fine palette of yours with my desperate digits of hope. My second choice; does anyone know the Japanese symbols for Choco Taco?

[chuckularone]

Hey, can I change my request? As long as both Lucky and Savannah have already seen my phone number here on this post, there's no further need to muddy that fine palette of yours with my desperate digits of hope. My second choice; does anyone know the Japanese symbols for Choco Taco?

チョコタコス
Chokotakosu

[Sham]

I remain honored (honoured in Canada) to be a permanent part of you my friend. Please take good care of your health, as there are hundreds of burners depending on you.

Sham....

[BoyScoutGirl]

Hey, can I change my request? As long as both Lucky and Savannah have already seen my phone number here on this post, there's no further need to muddy that fine palette of yours with my desperate digits of hope. My second choice; does anyone know the Japanese symbols for Choco Taco?

チョコタコス
Chokotakosu

That's correct, if you want the plural. Drop the last character for singular.

The funny part is that "tako" means octopus.

[FIGJAM]

Chocolate octopus?

To the bar, STAT!!!

[tatonka]

Mitakuye Oyasin = put that at the top of your list , means = we are all related

[Patsh]

Mitakuye Oyasin = put that at the top of your list , means = we are all related

Is this Lakota?

[tatonka]

yes

[AntiM]

Hey, can I change my request? As long as both Lucky and Savannah have already seen my phone number here on this post, there's no further need to muddy that fine palette of yours with my desperate digits of hope. My second choice; does anyone know the Japanese symbols for Choco Taco?

チョコタコス
Chokotakosu

That's correct, if you want the plural. Drop the last character for singular.

The funny part is that "tako" means octopus.

Also means "kite". A flying chocolate octopus? Hells yes.

[Simon of the Playa]

i have 8 certain winners so far, 25 slots left..

it's a mix of old and new, alive, dead and missing...but all were, or are loved.



and speaking of flying chocolate octopii, i just realized the three links on the bottom for the posters was set to a restrictive privacy level.

they are now public.


there are approx 4-5 years worth of posters there. enjoy.

( click three links in my sig line to access )

[Jovankat]

Jovankat, i will put your Husfriend's name on...


your story is already known, and i would like to do that for you and yours.


one slot has your choice of name on it


bless wrote:

your other butt.

im afraid both cheeks have already been "turned"...

Yay thank you!

[Elderberry]

Unfortunately, people you have banned on Facebook can't see those links public or not.

i have 8 certain winners so far, 25 slots left..

it's a mix of old and new, alive, dead and missing...but all were, or are loved.



and speaking of flying chocolate octopii, i just realized the three links on the bottom for the posters was set to a restrictive privacy level.

they are now public.


there are approx 4-5 years worth of posters there. enjoy.

( click three links in my sig line to access )

[Simon of the Playa]

sorry about that.


it was probably during one of my bouts of paranoia and rage.....














or maybe it was something you said that pissed off sasquatch...

either way, it is no longer blocked to you.

[tatonka]

couldnt find any words in lakota for Hooker's and Blow ")

[Patsh]

couldnt find any words in lakota for Hooker's and Blow ")

How about, "burn shit and blow shit up" in Lakota?

[tatonka]

Aile chesli na wasni chesli wankate , there ya go ")

[Simon of the Playa]

i wish i had more skin.



here is just one of the stories, and i thought i'd post it here now, as an example..

it is a "winner", but the person who sent this and i have to decide on how to accommodate all of them, in some way or form.

as follows...

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about your tattoos. I know I don't know nothin' about 'em, but I keep coming back to the stories already there, the stories that could be there. I think about the people that I've met during my brief stint so far on this planet - the ones who have really made an impact on me.

I consider myself a fairly independent person. I tend to make friends and then move on when our lives go separate ways, like they do. I tend not to put in the effort to keep in touch. Instead, I prefer to hold on to the memories of the good times, when it was real and fun and we didn't have to work for the friendship, or the love, or whatever. So when people pass out of my life, I don't think much of it beyond "So it goes."

But thinking about those 33 open spaces has made me realize there have been some fairly profound impacts on me. I don't know if all the folks are still alive - I tend to fall out of touch, like I said - but I think of them and the memories make me smile.

The act of reflecting on this has been incredibly meaningful to me, even if I can't boil it all down to a single name. What you are offering is a wonderful gift. Thank you.

Perhaps, in this spirit, you might consider something along the lines of [This space intentionally left blank]?

I can think of many people I could put in that space. I will name them here, to get them out of my heart for a time:

- Mr. Suzuki the bookseller, who spoke English to me kindly when I lived in a tiny Japanese village for two years and was a constant source of friendship and help in an unfamiliar culture. He loved jazz and dreamed of helping set up an international jazz fair, but couldn't leave the village because he was dedicated to taking care of his invalid mother. Several years ago, I received an email that he was admitted to the hospital himself, with cancer. I am too afraid to follow up, but every year I dream about bringing him to the Jazz Cafe at Center Camp, just to see that mischievous smile.

- Dave, who turned my love of the woods into a trained and scientific eye, especially to the ways of the birds and the snakes and the lizards. His humor and enthusiasm never flagged, which is saying something for a museum curator in charge of 20 too-smart-for-their-own-good teenagers on a trip to the tropics. He worked to instill in us a deep and meaningful sense of responsibility for the land, and appreciation for what we are rapidly losing around the world. He always wanted kids of his own (other than the gaggle of museum volunteers he landed), but his home life has been one series of spectacular failures, including accusation of international kidnapping by a woman who only pretended her child was his so she could get into the US in the first place. Dave could put up with 15-hour van rides with 10 versions of 14-year-old me and make every single one of those kids a better person for it, and I consider him my second father.

- The baby rabbit I killed with my bare hands in 7th grade. It was a mercy killing, but it took three trembling attempts to wring its neck.

- The teenage hippie trying to give away his crappy paintings to me at the airport my first burn. I didn't take a painting because they were crap, but I did accept the offer of tea. The second cup, he chastised me "Can I get some eye contact with that thank you?" I have never said thank you the same way since, and this more soul-bearing expression of my gratitude through eye contact has actually made the gratitude itself more profound.

- The entire church. Because fuck you; you messed me up bad and I'm still not over it.

- Ben, who was pretty messed up himself. I got out of that, and I sure hope he managed to as well. I wonder which is more true: my regret not at not being strong enough to fix him or my relief at finally bailing on that sinking ship.

- Dan, who can't talk because of the cancer that happened after our government dropped agent orange on him when we was shipped off to Viet Nam. I only know him from the dust every year, and we can't converse much because of his condition, but he gave me the best hug I think I've ever had, and convinced me to considering coming back at the end of my first burn. We "get" each other and work our asses off to pull off the Lamplighting Thing We Do. Every year I'm terrified I'll hear he's in the hospital because the cancer is back. He's tough as nails, and I can't imagine it happening, but if it does, I know I will cry more than I ever cried at a relative's passing. But it will be a celebrate of a tough, colorful life.

- Bernard Mupangapanga, who humored the young white American girl who was completely naive about all things Zimbabwe, but was proud to tell her many months later that he had saved enough money to begin working to build his own home. His coworker later emailed me to say the Zimbabwean doctors had found "holes in his brain," and I was angry at this world, where good people don't have access to a doctor who can say more than "holes in his brain."

- Oscar, and by extension the youth of Spain, and my sister. When one incredibly intelligent, very charismatic young man can work his hardest for years on end and get nowhere in terms of job security or education, leading to the erosion and eventual poisoning of a great relationship between two beautiful and promising young people, I feel more angry than I have perhaps ever felt, and I feel so desperately sad for the hundreds of thousands and millions of youth burning through their lives as they a similar path down a treadmill to nowhere.

- My mother, who made damn sure my father would never be anything like hers, even if she hasn't been able to escape his ghost herself.

- So, so many teachers. They helped keep this nerdy kid on track.

- And, in turn, my students, past, present, and future: community college students are working far harder than so many others and doing so while facing challenges many Americans won't ever face in their lives. They inspire me constantly, and if I can do something to help them, then it is all worth it.

- Carmen, the name we would have given to the baby, had it been a girl. I was an intelligent upper-middle class 29-year-old with three degrees, a good amount of savings, and a fantastically stable relationship with strong family on both sides. I opted to abort, overriding his wishes. There was no discussion. I do not regret my decision, did not and do not have trouble being at peace with it, and would do it again if the IUD failed again (we were the 0.8%).

But, had it been a girl, her name would have been Carmen. Because that was his great-grandmother's name.

More important to me than any of those memories is the idea that everyone has memories like these - never identical, but at least as meaningful. And sometimes, the thought of that intentionally blank space is what it takes to realize that we're not islands, and that we have been impacted deeply and meaningfully by human interaction. Thank you for helping me realize this.

*boom*

[tamarakay]

Boom indeed.