Family and Other Ports in the Storm
Friday, August 15 2008 | Comments (0)
In this week’s episode of Miami Ink, it’s all about family as Yoji travels to Japan to introduce his daughter to her grandma, the crew does a memorial tattoo for a dear departed friend, and Darren does some art for an infant.
Yoji Harada’s past left him somewhat estranged from his family back in Japan, but now that he’s a father, he’s trying to reconnect with his mom for his daughter’s sake. He and his wife Bridget are going to take a trip to Japan to introduce Sidney and her grandma.
When Yoji calls his Mom to tell her that he, Bridget, and Sidney are coming to Japan, she seems really excited. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Sidney. “Sidney is shy, especially on phones, so yeah she didn’t really want to talk to her grandma. In the past Sidney has been afraid of elderly women…” Bridget tells us, “She's really afraid of witches, so I think somehow she relates that to older women…That would be the worst thing that could happen, if Sidney was honestly afraid of Yoji’s mom.”
Back in Miami, Karen, a member of the U.S. army parachute team the golden knights, wants gypsy dancer tattoo. “A gypsy dancer represents that you can do pretty much anything you want, you just set you mind to it, like parachuting…Through parachuting I have learned to be acutely aware of exactly what’s going on right now, and I think that’s helped me to pay more attention to my children, interact better with my husband, my co-workers, just experiencing everything that’s going on right now, and not taking anything for granted.”
After trying to get the hook up on some government quality parachuting, Chris Núñez sends Karen to the mirror to check out her new tattoo. “You’re done,” he tells her, “Now, at least when you take me on the tandem you won’t drop me.”
Next, Carl wants a tattoo to honor his parents. Tim Hendricks makes a stencil for the tattoo from a couple of old photos Carl brought, and after he places it he asks Carl why he’s getting the tattoo. “My father has Alzheimer’s, and my mother is still standing by his side…The number one thing that Alzheimer’s has taught me is that you have to have patience that you cannot fathom, and I don’t have any. When I’m at that point where I can’t be patient with my father anymore, I’ll actually have something that will remind me: be patient." The oval tattoo on Carl’s bicep features his parents in an old carnival shooting game they used to run on the boardwalk. “I picked the perfect artist, the perfect place, this tattoo will continually remind me that we need patience with my fathers disease.”
Darren Brass has been getting ready for the birth of his baby, and he’s met a doctor that has asked him to help create some art to help another new parent. Dr. Frank is a surgeon specializing in cranial-facial surgery. Unfortunately, sometimes babies’ heads emerge malformed because of the flexibility of the skull bones at birth. This causes their head to look a bit crooked, but Dr. Frank can help through surgery and special helmets that work like braces for teeth, slowly coaxing the skull plates back into place. “The helmets themselves are kind of boring. It’s just a white piece of plastic, so I thought it was a great idea to put some artwork on the helmets, jazz them up a bit.” Darren does an intricate Asian design on the tiny white helmet that Frank’s patient loves. “It’s just great to know that with modern medicine the way it is, that it can be taken care of, and he doesn’t have to have a weird, oddly shaped dome like Ami.”
Dave, the manager at the guy’s bar Love Hate, has been wanting a foo dog tattoo for a while; Chris Garver is happy to oblige, “A foo dog is pretty much a mythological creature, but you know the funny thing about a foo dogs is that they’re not really dogs at all, they’re actually lions; it’s for protection.” “This year and a half,” Dave tells him, “has definitely been filled with major heartache and it’s time to get some protection and that’s what the foo dog is going to give to me, it better give it to me, because I need it.”
After many a year and a very long flight, Yoji is back in Japan. “I’m in the hometown, where I grew up…everything is different, man every house is like all built up. Everything’s changed, there’s a lot of new buildings, it’s kind of weird, but I can smell it. It smells the same.” “I haven’t seen Yoji act like this,” his wife Bridget says, “since I don’t know, maybe when we got married? He’s thrilled to be back here. He’s like a little kid.” Sidney and her grandma’s introduction will have to wait until grandma gets off work. “I’m looking forward to her seeing my mom tonight, and I hope it’s going to be a great time, and that Sidney is going to love my mom,” Yoji says.
Dave’s blue and gold foo dog is ready to go, and Garver starts on his chest. “A few years ago, my girlfriend at the time became pregnant,” Dave says, “So I did what I thought a man would do and try to start a family, and when things did go wrong, and the relationship was over, she ended up picking up and moving with my son to Aruba.” Dave tries to get to Aruba every month, but its hard, and he just wants to be there for his son. “My hope for the future with Taylor is that he knows that he has a Papi that’s in his life, that I love him dearly, and that I’ll always be there for him. It’s definitely something that’s taken a toll on my heart, hence the foo dog upon the chest, protecting the heart.” The snarling lion looks great on Dave’s chest, and he gives Garver a hug before heading back over to the Love Hate bar and a new beginning.
The crew has been working together on a tattoo for their friend Billy, whose brother Dan passed away recently. Dan was like family to the guys at the shop, and the crew want to honor their friend with a portrait on his brother’s leg. The tattoo will also feature a Garver tiger with wings, one of Dan's last requests for a tattoo, and Dan’s favorite motto, “Any port in a storm.”
It’s finally time for Yoji’s daughter to meet her grandma, but the trouble is that Sidney is still on Miami time and fast asleep. Even so, Yoji’s mom is ecstatic. “My mom’s looking at Sid, and she looked so happy, she was like looking at Sidney’s sleeping face, touching her face and stuff, it was really cute, it touched my feelings.” The family will have to return tomorrow though if Yoji wants his mom to get a chance to play with her granddaughter.
The tattoo design of the crew’s deceased friend Dan is done, and the memorial is ready to go on Dan’s brother Billy’s leg. As the crew reminisces about the friend, each takes a turn on Billy’s leg, offering their specific expertise to the piece. When it’s done, Billy looks at the mirror in complete wonder. “The tattoo is amazing. The guys did a phenomenal job on it. I think Dan would go crazy if he were here to see it,” Billy says. Chris Núñez seems to agree, “It was just a really nice sense of accomplishment to finish the tattoo and to do something in honor of our boy, he was a very near and dear part of our lives.”
In the final tattoo, Ami James is commissioned to do a “Spanish style pistol shooting candy” on Sandra’s back. “The pistol represents myself, strong, beautiful, independent…and the candy is a representation of they way I’ve dealt with the obstacles in my life, in a very sweet way,” Sandra says, “I was raised…by a single mother…I felt like I could give myself a better life than my mom was doing…and I promised myself that I was going to do well and that’s what I’ve done.” “I can respect anybody,” James says, “that has managed to pull out of hard times, without any help from anyone. She was just a sweetheart altogether. I was happy to give her the tattoo. I’m proud of her.” Sandra loves the colors, the pistol’s flair, and leaves the shop with a great reminder of the things that have gotten her to where she is today.
In the final attempt to meet grandma, Sidney isn’t cooperating with Yoji. After refusing to go to meet her, Yoji’s mom comes to the hotel bearing presents. The Japanese doll that grandma gives Sidney is a hit, and finally the two are getting some quality time together. “Sidney and Harumi are playing…they’re just enjoying each other’s company…it’s just beyond what I expected,” Bridget says. As a parting gift, Yoji gives his mom a brand new apple laptop with a built in camera so she can video conference with her new granddaughter. Yoji’s mom is sad to see them go, but is excited to now have the ability to see Sidney grow and keep in touch.
This week, whether it’s Yoji’s family, Darren’s family, or the family of friends at the shop, everyone got a chance to show their familial love…and their ink.
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