A guy named Jozef with a foreign accent similar to "Borat" came by the shop a month ago looking to get his first tattoo. I was getting ready for an appointment but I took a minute to greet him and try to help him out. As it turns out, he was down to his last couple of weeks of being able to live in the United States on a work visa and he was going to be leaving the country soon. He told me that he wanted to get a tattoo of the carving on Stone Mountain as a momento of his time living in Atlanta. Normally, my waiting list for new clients prevents me from taking on a spur of the moment project but I couldn't resist the opportunity to not only tattoo the carving but to put it on such a strange and interesting client. So I found a spot in my calendar a few days before he was planning to leave the country and set an appointment.
Stone Mountain Park was a regular summer destination for me and my family. The mountain features the largest bas relief sculpture in the world. The scene depicts three Civil War Confederates on horseback including Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. The carving measures 90 by 190 feet and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. If you're ever in Atlanta in the spring or summer, I highly recommend that you spend a day at the park and stick around for the laser show and fireworks after dark.
Jozef sent me this photo that was taken a few days before he set off on the next chapter of his life. Thanks Jozef!
_m.jpg "Monument to America")
