Tattoos

Yep, here I am.  After researching local tattoos, it occurred to me that you are never too old to get your first tattoo.  Here I am at "Steve's Tattoo Shop" with Steve himself doing the honors.  His shop is the only licensed tattoo business in the area.  I thought I deserved the best.   As usual I approached this task with undaunted courage.  There will be more about Steve later.  Find out about my tattoo at the end of the blog.



My son has been encouraging me for several months to do a blog on the tattoos in Culpeper.  It seemed like a good choice because you see them everywhere you go and everywhere you look....... that is until you go out looking for them for photographs and then there a none, nada....zero!   One day I even walked in Walmart for 20 minutes without seeing a single tattoo!  I can hear you saying, "no way," but let me assure you it is a fact.  That must be a world record!!!!  The task to photograph this blog became somewhat harder because right after I decided to pursue a tattoo blog, the weather turned unseasonably cold and all obvious tattoos were covered up.  Anyway, I persevered and here we go.......  This is such a rich subject that this will be Part I and will be continued at a later date. 

I became interested, no curious, about tattoos at the tender age of 12 in my home state of Idaho.  That year I had the privilege of participating in Boy Scouts with a great leader named Rasmussen.  His first name has become lost in time, but it doesn't matter because everybody, including the boys, called him "Rass."  He had been a sailor in World War II  and had a rather large tattoo.  His tattoo was a young Hawaiian hula girl who lived on his chest from his collar bone to the bottom of his diaphragm.  I remember her well....... she wore a grass skirt and that is all!!!  When we went swimming and Rass was bare chested, we were all in little boy heaven.....his tattoo was as close to the real thing as we would get for years.

A well known axiom of my Idaho boyhood was that you could get a girl with a tattoo to do anything.  That was somehow pretty exciting except for the fact that I had never seen a girl with a tattoo and I wasn't sure exactly what I would get her to do.  My young mind pondered having her do my homework or mowing our lawn.......  ah youth!

In about 1994 I was working at Robinson Secondary School when another tattoo event occurred. A rather high profile senior girl and her well known mother got matching tattoos on their shoulders.  That was a bit of a scandal and signaled that things had changed for good!  There was a time when it seemed only warriors returning from war, waitresses in Honky Tonks or bikers had tattoos.  Now everybody has them from all occupations, ages and walks of life.

Let's look at some people with tattoos in the Pepper.

I went to the Haymarket Cleaners which is located in the strip mall just behind Chili's restaurant to pick up clothes.  As I pulled in I saw this big young man get out of his Jeep and go into a store.  I could see from about 50 yards away that he had a significant tattoo on his arm so I grabbed my camera.  This is Travis Blake and he had this pink ribbon put on his arm in the memory of his grandmother who died of breast cancer.  He has lived in the Pepper for about 10 years.

Travis helped me realize how personal most tattoos are.

Jessica Lohr obviously works for Lowes.  When I am preparing for a blog I just keep my camera with me and I was lucky to have it with me this day.  I found this very interesting and asked her if she would explain the tattoo.  She was happy to.  She told me that she and her husband are both Christians and that she loves tattoos.  However, he hates them, but he was willing to support her with this particular one because it fits their family philosophy.  This is the Greek work for rebirth.  Jessica was the first person I would meet with a religiously oriented tattoo, but certainly not the last.  In fact I found lots of them and I have been told that religious expressions are probably the most common of tattoos.

I was walking by the Mountain Kim Martial Arts and noticed an instructor working with a couple of young boys inside.  I just dropped in to watch and see if there was anything there to photograph.  This gentleman came out of the office to see if he could help me.  He is Dennis Byrne and co owner of the school.  His wife is Gabby Byrne and she is the Master and head of the school.  They have two boys and a baby on the way.  I told Dennis that I was looking for tattoos and he volunteered that he had a couple.  Here they are and  they have a religious theme.  The clover on his left wrist represents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The work on his right arm he called "Holy Knots" and are again a Christian symbol representing the Trinity. 

I guess the word got around that I was tattoo hunting because this young lady called me to tell me that she had tattoos that she was willing to share.  She works at Buffalo Wild Wings and I made an appointment to meet her there.  However, I falsely assumed that she would be the only waitress there with tattoos and so I did not take her name.  When I got to the BWW a lady approached to ask if she could help me.  I told her that I was looking for "a tattooed waitress."  She replied that everyone who works there has tattoos.  Sooo...she and I had a conversation.  She told me that she had nine and while generally happy, she wished that she could get rid of a couple because at age 42 they were fading and/or losing their shape.  She did confirm what I had heard about tattoos and that is that they are addictive.....like the Lays Potato Chips ad that says "nobody can eat just one"..... it seems that no one can stop at just one of these pieces of art.

Anyway,  Jada Turner and  her tattoos found me.  She had one on her wrist that is shown above and a pair of angel wings on her upper back.  Many tattoos are not where people can see them.  They are personal and sometimes private (think of Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr...I would rather not, but you can....come to think of it, theirs may have been the most public private tattoos, ever!).  I was not looking for those although I am sure they are interesting.  Jada has worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for the past three years.  Her tattoo is unique (check above) because if you look at it one way it spells her name, Jada; turned upside down and you have her boyfriend, Dave's name.  Pretty clever I think.  

This is Steve Schroeder and he is the owner of Steve's Tattoo Shop which is the only licensed establishment of its kind in Culpeper.  I first met him at Culpeper Days and told him that someday I would be doing a blog on tattoos.  Of course he was all for it.  With all that skin art he can look tough, but trust me....this is a nice guy with a great sense of humor.  He has been around the business for 20 years....the last four right here in the Pepper. His shop is on Montanus behind Target.  This guy has stories.........

On a couple of occasions Steve had invited me to drop by his shop.  So I knew if I wanted tattoos, that is where I would find them.  When I walked in for the first time I found them busy at work.  This lady is Jackie Kommes.  She is not only an office manager, but also a mom and a grandma!  I have to tell you that this is not her only tattoo, just her latest.  She is celebrating her survival over breast cancer with a pink ribbon.   She had a lot to say about tattoos.  She loves hers.  The best analogy that I can make is that some people seem to love their tattoos with the same intensity that others do their dogs.  She confirmed that this is an addictive activity and opined that this was likely not her last.

The artist here is Blaine Heath.  He has worked at this shop the last two years.  He told me that he has worked on teachers, lawyers, accountants, and just about every kind of person you can name with one notable exception.  He said, at least in Culpeper, he has not tattooed a doctor....physician, that is.  I found that for every person who openly displays their tattoos, there is at least one who has them where they can be covered up for work.  I have personally seen them at church, on bank tellers, nurses, teachers, counselors, and a plethora of others.  They are everywhere.....unless as I noted earlier....you are looking for them.

By the way, legitimate skin artists serve an apprenticeship with a licensed practitioner to prepare them for the work.  There is a lot to know before you jump into this occupation.

This is Ricky May who is a lifetime resident of Culpeper.  He owns a landscaping business.  His tattoo is rather small and tasteful.  It celebrates his fiance, Virginia Carter. 

Tim Canton was just recently finished his time in the army and came to Culpeper to visit with his family.  He plans to settle in California.  His tattoo is, as you can see, a dragon.  He had the outline done in Santa Barbara, California and the shading in Warrenton, Va. 

Jen recently moved to our area from Canada.  She has pretty extensive tattooing on her body she tells me.  This particular tattoo is of a glass broken heart that symbolizes when she was going through a tough time.  Things are excellent for her now.

As I drove past Yowell Park on one of the recent nice days, I could see the tattoos on a skateboarder who was practicing his skills and so I pulled in to see what he was about.  He is Danny Griffen and it turns out that he is a cook at Buffalo Wild Wings.  He has two tattoos.  The first is shown above and features a Fender Stratocaster guitar with wings.  Danny is a player and loves to jam with his friends.  He used the strat because it is an iconic guitar and much like the one he plays.  He added wings to signify that he intends to play forever.  On his forearm is a rather large word, following the faith theme of so many others, the word is "Blessed."

At Logan's Hair Salon I found Joey who describes himself as a "coworker."  I have heard he actually is a bit of a star!  He has been at that salon for 15 years.  His tattoo speaks for itself.

A now for the big finish.....this is a tale of two tattoos.  First let me introduce the players who are both my neighbors.  On the left is Shantelle Brausen who moved to Virginia from Minnesota four years ago.  Seven months ago she moved into my neighborhood, two houses away from me.  Shantelle is a stay-at-home mom.  On the right is Angelica Sapp who is a Sales Manager for ADP Security Systems.  She is a life long Virginia native and also lives on my street.....two houses away also, but on the other side of the street.  That means that Angelica and Shantelle live right across the street from each other.  When I decided to blog about tattoos I immediately thought about Shantelle's Micky Mouse.  Then a friend told me that Angelica had a Mickey on her ankle too.  What a coincidence!  Women from different parts of the country and both end up neighbors in the Pepper and both have a Mickey Mouse tattoo on their ankle!  Shantelle originally wanted a Celtic religious symbol on her ankle, but it was too big and too complex.  She said that going to her second choice, "was easy" since she had always loved Mickey. ( Note, on the back of her heel  is a Mickey Mouse bandaid. )  Angelica had a much more serious reason for hers.  She loved Mickey Mouse and so did her special grandfather.  One day he went to the store and came back with  Mickey Mouse as a gift for Angelica.  Later that day he passed away.  This Mickey celebrates her grandfather.  You may note that Angelica's Mickey has a halo.  These neighbors are both crazy about their tattoos...I am truly amazed at the coincidence.

OK, OK.... it's me again with a true confession.  I really didn't get a tattoo, but you have to admit that Steve and I deserve Oscars for our performances.

That's it for now.  However, there will be a "Tattoos pt 2"  in the future.  If you want to be part of it let me know at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

Be sure to watch for,  "Snapshots of Culpeper by Rich Crowley"  in the Culpeper Times.

Faces of Culpeper.... The Fit Ones

Cindy Wenzel, personal trainer at Gold's Gym

As we go through life it seems  that most of us work, off and on, at being physically fit.  "Getting in shape" has to be the number one New Year's resolution.  However there are a lot of people who stay in good physical condition year in and year out.  Most of us strive to different degrees to maintain the mind set that will make the hard work to attain a great physique a possibility.  I have often said when I  see someone particularly ripped that: "I would give anything in the world except the hard work it would take to have a body like that."  I find it interesting that in a town as small as the Pepper there are three facilities to help people with their conditioning.  Each one is different and fills a special need for their clientele.  In this blog we will look at two of them and some of the people who work out there.

ANYTIME FITNESS

The Anytime Fitness gym is owned by a neighbor of mine whom I had never met before doing this blog.  He was at the facility the second time I stopped  by and I found him to be a really engaging guy.  We had a good conversation. The first time I went to Anytime Fitness I was escorted to Veronica McBride who is the General Manager and a personal trainer.   While I was telling her who I am and why I was there, she was looking at my last blog.  It took her exactly 2.5 seconds to find it on her computer.  This woman is very friendly and clearly all professional about her business.  We talked a bit about Anytime Fitness and the ways it  is  different from the other gyms in town. Then she gave me free rein to wander around and shoot whatever I wanted and to photograph some of their patrons.  Veronica is the kind of person that I would choose for a friend. 

What makes Anytime Fitness unique and a great fit for certain people is that it is very comfortable and non threatening. It is more intimate than the others and that definitely appeals to a certain clientle.  The staff is welcoming and makes you feel at home immediately.  There is great personal and personalized attention.  If a person is just starting to train or a veteren of working out but not interested in being surrounded by tons of people as they workout and learn....this is the place.  There is not a lot of  distracting hubbub going on and in fact I found the general ambiance to be very calm considering what the people were doing.  I felt very little sense of competition existing there.... just people doing their thing in a comfortable setting. 

AND......

It is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year!!!!!!!  That is just amazing!

Let's check this place out.

This big ol dude is TJ Russell.  He is an 09 graduate of Eastern View and he works out at AF every night.  Here  he is doing bench presses.

Mike Wright works for Campbell Heating and Air Conditioning. He works out three times a week.  He is working his abs.

In between workouts, Cathy Earnest works for the VA Workers Comp Commission.  She has lived in Brandy Station for the last seven years and works out three times a week. It makes me nervous to attempt this but...... I think this exercise is called a Side Plank.  Of course Cathy is really executing  the exercise....I am just attempting to get the name correct.

I am really glad that I ran into this young lady working out on a treadmill because she is a teacher (yeah!!!!) at Culpeper High School.  If you have read my profile you know that my professional background is education.  This is Colbi Williams and she just joined the high school faculty this semester.  She came all the way from Atlanta to teach in the Pepper.  She must be special! I suspect that the kids she teaches are very fortunate.

GOLD'S GYM

I was warmly welcomed at Gold's!  The manger told me that he was happy to have me taking pictures  and saw my blog as one more way to get the word out about his gym.  I dropped in on Thursday around noon and even at that time of day there was a fair amount going on.  I have driven by in the evening and looked in the windows and know that it is a very busy place.  I thought it would be best for me to get the shots I wanted if I went when things were a little slower.  I was correct. 

This facility is very large...... and has a ton of  workout equipment.   I found it interesting that they had a special room called "Lady Gold's"  which allowed for female patrons who were not totally comfortable with all the testosterone and big bodies working out to have a place of their own.  Another really fun feature is the "Cinema Room."  This is a room where you can do your  entire cardio workout while watching a movie on a big screen.  Too cool!

Let's look around.

This is Emily Beker who is a personal trainer certified through AFAA.  I don't know exactly what that means but Emily wanted me to know that so I think it is important. She is obviously working out her biceps which look amazing.  She has been with Gold's here in the Peper for three years.

This is James Terrell upside down. Obviously he is doing bench presses.  James is a lab tech for Superior Paving. 

This is a pretty cool picture if  I do say so myself.  I wrote down everything about this man but the most important thing..... his name.  Dang!!!!!! I know that he graduated from Woodbridge High School, has lived in the Pepper since 2004, has four kids and a wife, is retired from the Army and Coast Guard after 22 years of active duty and now is a part time real estate agent.  If I just knew his name.....help!!!!  If anyone can tell who it is from this picture please email me at   facesofculpeper@gmail.com   Boy, do I feel dumb.....good picture, though.  :)

OK...Here is Fred Grote doing curls.  Fred is a truck driver who is originally from California.  He has lived here in the Pepper for 11 years.  He told me that he started coming to Gold's four months ago.  In that four months he has dropped twenty two pounds, increased his chest by four inches, and reduced his waist by ten.  That is a lot of change, but he has come in everyday of those four months to workout.

Scott  Strand who works at Swift  as a Network Engineer.  He works out five times a week.  He comes a few times a week during his lunch break and in the evening for his major workouts.

It is interesting who you meet at Gold's.  This is the dining room manager at The Inn at Little Washington. His name is Neil O'Heir.  He has lived in the Pepper for 18 years with his wife.  They have five boys!  My wife and I raised three sons and boy do I understand the need to find some time at the gym....five boys!  Wow!

Finally.....here is another woman!   This is Gin Carter who is a mom of three and just loves to workout.  She was also there with her son who we will see later. 

  

The manager stopped by to tell me that I should be sure to get a picture of Tim Roberts who he said, "Is in the best shape of anyone who comes here."  Done!  Tim is ripped for sure.  He is a paralegal in DC and a long time resident of Culpeper.  Christine O'Brien, a personal trainer,  was helping Tim and making sure he gets it right.  She has been with Gold's for five years.

Jeff Russell is doing some leg stretches.  He is an iron worker and has owned his own business for the last nine years.

This is Josh.  We met his mother, Gin just a little bit earlier.  She wanted to be sure that I got a picture of her boy working out.  Josh, amazingly, is eleven years old and is getting himself ready for fall football.  Someone is going to have a pretty big order to try to block this kid. Here he is practicing striking and kicking with personal trainer, Cindy Wenzel.  She is the person who is doing the handstand at the beginning of this blog.  I will tell you one thing.....this boy has phenominal hand speed!!

I want to wrap things up with Jonathan James.  Jonathon was one of the first people I met in the Pepper after I decided to do a photo blog of the faces here.  He helped me with my business cards. His family business is Xpress Copy & Graphics.   When you meet him it is obvious that he is not the run of the mill kind of guy.  He is really built and certainly is one of the best known athletes in this area.  Jonathon competes in contests for "natural body builders."  That means they use no steriods nor other performance enhancers.  He was my motivation to do this blog on those who are working to be fit.  We have been talking about getting a picture of him for months.  The first time I tried he was getting married the next day and just couldn't work me in....can you imagine?  When I went to his business the other day and told him that I finally was going to do the picture he was concerned that he was not in his best condition. However he was a good sport and agreed.  I had him pose so that the trophies he has won were right behind his arm.  He seems to be a very nice guy and also pretty humble. 

That's it for now. If you have suggestions or comments you can post them here or email me at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

Faces of Culpeper......Brrrrrrrrrr !

Here I am with my granddaughter Audrey all bundled and ready to go out in the cold weather.  You know it is not always easy to think of a subject that I want to cover photographically here in the Pepper.  When I think of something that grabs my fancy I get excited about it and automatically think about how it is going to work out.  It has been cold here lately......This December was the coldest one on record.  January is predicted to progress the same way.  So I thought it would be fun to go out and take pictures of the people all bundled up against the cold.   My image was big overcoats, hooded parkas and other heavy winter wear.  So I first headed to the Target parking lot sure that I would find women and men in winter gear rushing to their cars.  It was after all, 32 degrees.  I did not have to wait long for the first woman to exit the store.  She was wearing......nothing in the way of a coat or jacket!!  She stood there for three or four minutes with no visible sign that it was cold and then strolled to her car.  What??!!! In time I was not disappointed with the people who were well dress for cold weather, but what was surprising was the number of thin sweaters, light hooded sweat shirts,  jackets  (and just wait until you see what one guy was wearing!) and other light articles of clothing.  Those under dressed people  were all shivering and the ones I ask said they hated the cold, but they were doing nothing to fend off the low temperature.  I was astounded!  The second day it was 30 degrees when I ventured forth and the wind was blowing making it feel much colder.  Almost everyone was dressed for the cold. That made me feel somewhat better about the sanity of my fellow citizens.  Let's see who I found.

This is Tyrone Richards who like me, is a retired guy.  He said he hates the cold and has considered moving to Arizona, but then asked me if I had seen the weather they have been having there.  I have seen that weather and think that he and I both will be content to stay put in the Pepper for a while.

This lovely lady who is perfectly dressed for cold weather or any other occasion is Delores Smead.  Delores grew up in the Culpeper area and then moved to California for most of her adult life.  Recently she has moved back to help her mom.

You know, guys are interesting.  It was almost 30 degrees with snow predicted for the next day and Craig Newsom decided it was a perfect time to wash his vehicle.  There may be some ladies out there that are shaking their heads, but most of us guys understand and think it is perfectly reasonable.  Even if it only looks great for a few hours.......it is worth it.  Not only that, but Craig had the good fortune to have his good friend supervising from the warmth of his own truck nearby. 

This is the previously mentioned "friend" who offered suggestions, barbs and observations while Craig labored.  His name is Josh Brooks.

I had just pulled into a parking lot when I saw this attractive family heading my way.  I grabbed my camera and stepped out of my car.  This lady, Noreen Shorey,  proceeded to make my day by saying, "I know who you are!  You are Rich Crowley."  She told me that her BFF had told her a few months ago that "people are actually following this guy" and that her mom who lives in Richmod follows this blog. (Let me give a shout out here to the BFF's mom in Richmond)  That promted Noreen to start following the feature, "Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper" which appears weekly in the Culpeper Times.  Just this week she had seen the picture of the woman and her daughter with the Christmas trees and wondered if she would ever cross paths with me.   She did and the rest is history except to note that the handsome gentlemen accompanying their mom are Miles on the left, and Jonathon on the  right.

NOW FOR THE UNBELIEVEABLE PART OF THIS BLOG

TA DAH!!!!!!!!

I was entering the parking lot of Kohls when I spotted this guy with no shirt getting something out of the bed of his truck.  I had to have this picture cause man, it was freezing.  James Keck was at the back of his truck because he had decided it was time to put something on and so he was getting a sleeveless tshirt.  He assured me that he kept the cab of the truck really warm.  As I told some people I was photographing about James, a couple reported that they had seen him driving around without his shirt.   James !!!!!!!!!!

After James.....whew!.....my attention was drawn accross the street to where several cars had stopped.  I saw the sign and headed on over to see what was happening.  Butch, L.J. and Chris had a pen of pit bull pups for sale and boy were they getting a lot of traffic.  That is Bryan who is a potential customer holding the puppy.

Lincoln Catron and Megan Payne had stopped to look at the dogs and I grabbed their picture.  Even the wind could not alter what a nice looking couple they are.

Saturday we had snow......for about two hours and then it melted.  I was lucky enough to take this picture of Clarence Carte in the snow.  Now.....he fits the mold I had envisioned with the big parka and the stocking cap.  I know he was warm. 

It was absolutely freezing and ice was on the ground when I found Dawn Pollard.  She is a cake decorator at Walmart.

AND NOW FOR THE BIG FINISH!!!  THANKS TO PTI.

These ladies were loading their car at Marty's (as we call Martins) when I happened upon them.  They were so nice to let me take their pictue and to stop and talk for a few minutes while they froze.  This is a mother/daugher team.  Delores Lucas is on the right in the fashionable hat.  She is a high school teacher at Battlefield High School.  Delores commented that she always looks for my "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper"  in the Culpeper Times.  Well she and her daughter will be in it before long.  On the left is Jackie Lucas the daughter who is an attorney.  They are great people and an excellent way to end my blog.

 If  you have comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

That's it for now.