First comes the tattoo, and then, a few years later . . . .

I've mentioned before in this space that the tattoo craze has baffled me from the outset, particularly as it applies to women (tacky), as well as to people of both genders who are determined to deface every square inch of their bodies with ink (bizarre).

I certainly don't question any adult's right to abuse themselves in this way, but I suspect a lot of it is motivated by a combination of peer pressure, insecurity and impulse-control problems. (Hey, look! A tattoo parlor! I think I'll get one! Or two! Or 10!) Apparently some people just don't like being naked, so they need a way to cover themselves up even when they aren't wearing any clothes.

With my antediluvian attitude, you can imagine how much I enjoyed a recent story in The Boston Globe on people who, having realized how ridiculous their tattoos look, are now determined to get rid of them. A 31-year-old woman quoted in the story spent $3,600 over two years trying to remove a Chinese symbol that she had someone tattoo on her ankle for $80 back when she was in college. 

The tattoo "was supposed to symbolize a warrior and a scholar," the woman told the Globe, but a Chinese-speaking friend later told her that the closest translation of the symbol is "mud pie."