Every tattoo has a story! Whether it’s one that you got spur of the moment when you were on vacation with your girlfriends, or it’s a depiction of a photo of your grandfather’s time in the military, all of these stories are amazing! And we want to hear them. Introducing . . .
Tat-Tales!
Every Monday, we’re going to feature an interview with one of our listeners along with a photo of their tattoo and the story behind it. AND just for joining us, you’ll receive an $80 gift certificate from Tymeless Tattoo in Baldwinsville to either add to your tattoo collection, or give it to someone else to start their own story!
Just fill out the entry form with some details about you and your tattoo and you may be the next winner!
From Tymeless Tattoos, and 93Q the #1 Hit Music Station!
Samantha writes: I have a tattoo on my arm that is of my daughter’s handwriting of her writing her name. It was from when she was around 2 1/2 years old. She and I can always look back on how proud she was of her handwriting.
Kasey writes: Jim at Tymeless worked his marker magic bringing this piece to fruition! Having gone through a good deal of bullying, yo-yo dieting, and years of disordered eating, I reached a place in my healing journey, which tattoos have long been a part of, where I realized I became more in love with my body the more I decorated it. My tummy has been a no-go zone for looking, touching, showing for my ENTIRE life, but now I can’t wait to show off this artwork! Inspired by the lyrics of another Central New Yorker who’s dealt with food and body image issues, Ani DiFranco, and some of the foods that have made my belly very happy, Jim absolutely rocked the theme! This is in progress, and one more session might be enough for finishing touches!
Robert writes: I lost my grandpa on November 30, 2024. He was my best friend we did everything together! My tattoo is inspired by him. He was a hard-working man. He was 80 years old and still working. He worked his whole life as a barber. My tattoo is a barber pole and a straight razor and the barber pole signifies our heritage of the Italian flag. I miss him more than you can imagine. He’s more than my best friend. Now he’s my angel. This allows me to carry a piece of him with me forever!
Amy writes: I’m a cat mom through and through. I wanted to start a sleeve with my fur babies (my first ever pets as an adult) center of attention. Alyssa from Grandline Tattoo in Baldwinsville did such an amazing job with their likeness!
Jessica writes: I have two boys and they are my world. The oldest is 25 now and the youngest is 11. My oldest entered the Army in 2022 and it was hard, but I am so proud of him for going after his goals. He is stationed in Hawaii and is a mechanic for the Black Hawks. He is hoping to become a pilot. The youngest looks up to him for everything and it hit him hard when he left. So I decided to get the tattoo of the infinity sign with both my kid’s names and dog tags to represent them and to show they are always connected to one another.
Holly writes:
At 20 weeks pregnant, my husband and I learned that our daughter had a severe congenital heart defect and had very little chance of surviving the pregnancy. She defied the odds and was born on November 8, 2022. She was hospitalized for the first 2 months of her life with 6 complex heart defects that required 3 life saving surgeries and 3 other surgeries for minor repairs. She required multiple hospitalizations throughout her first few years of life. Something that has always been powerful for us as a family is knowing that her heart is so unique and she is a true heart warrior. I wanted to honor this by having her first heartbeat scan taken in the hospital and having it tattooed on my forearm. I want to look at it every day and at her, and show the world to appreciate every heart beat they have because it is such a precious thing to cherish. She is now 2 years old and is thriving beyond what doctors expected and continues to blow us away with her determination and bravery. And now, I will forever have her heart beat with me!
Jessica writes:
I went into my appointment wanting a small butterfly on my wrist but realized that space wasn’t big enough for the details I was looking for. My 13 year old daughter searched and found a beautiful blue butterfly with grey flowers. To me it means new beginnings as I recently had a major life change. Like most that get tattoos I wanted more! Each thing represents something very important to me. The pink and reddish orange flowers are my children’s birth month flowers. The birds are my grandfather’s favorite birds, the chickadees. On one of the leaves there are two ladybugs – each having four dots for each of my nieces and nephews. I also have a tattoo of a lioness that represents my mom. She is a beautiful quiet fierce protector of our family. She would do anything to protect her four daughters and husband.
Amanda writes:
In 2020 my family and I found out that my deceased uncle had a long lost daughter he never knew about! Amy had been searching for her birth parents and a relative of my mom had been researching our family on ancestry. They became connected! Long story short we saw her photo on Facebook and there was NO denying that she was my uncle’s daughter! She was definitely part of our family. Upon chatting we found that we had a lot in common and felt a bond immediately. Then we met…we went from not knowing eachother to becoming cousins/best friends from the start. Bonus! She lives in Rochester! Every time we saw each other, it was like we had known each other our whole lives. We nicknamed ourselves “sister-cousins” and decided we would get a tattoo to represent that bond! Summer 2023 we hung out in Rochester for the weekend, seeing Chris Stapleton at CMAC and the following day we got matching tattoos on the back of our necks, representing the love of our Irish heritage and our newfound friendship/family tie. Our Celtic Sisterhood tattoo…
Emily writes:
For any anniversary, birthday, other card-exchanging holiday, my grandparents would write “1-2-3” and “3-1-2” to each other on the envelope/card, meaning “I love you” and “You I love.” We had a bit of a scare with their health during COVID, and I decided to get these tattoos in their handwriting so I always have them there with me saying “I love you.”
Joshua writes:
My mom loved pandas so when she passed in 1999 I got a panda tattoo….in 2021 I decided to get it covered up with a bigger more colorful one.
Kari writes: I have a dragonfly and sunflower flower tattoo – my 1st and 2nd. My boyfriend and I were supposed to get tattoos together, with my first one being a sunflower. But life kept happening, preventing us from doing so. He tragically passed away in July 2024 and immediately after, I kept seeing dragonflies everywhere- in cards from friends, in my yard, and when I was mowing his lawn, one would follow me ( until I accidentally bumped into his fruit tree lol). His death has made me realize to stop procrastinating and start living, so in September, I got the dragonfly and had the sunflower added 2 weeks later. I’m obsessed with them and they’re such a great reminder of him and the significance of what they both mean to me now.
Tess writes: I got my tattoo in 2013 at Adrenaline in San Antonio, while I was at Fort Sam Houston for medic training. My dad got his before I could ever remember. I hardly remember a time before my dad, but he’s not my “biological father”. But I know I wouldn’t have turned out okay without him. He took in a pretty broken family, stood by us while we finally got my “biological father” in jail. He divorced my mother when I was sixteen, but he never stopped being my dad. And now, he’s the only parent I have left. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding, where this photo was taken. And he’s never once made me feel like less than his own daughter. My replica of his tattoo is just a small tribute to the man who defined what it means to step up as a father.
Heather writes: I wanted a tribute to my Dad. His nickname was Hooter. I went to Tymeless Tattoo and Jim Sidelinger designed the perfect tattoo, an owl with my Dads initials, DAH, hidden in the tree at the bottom. My husband and I also got matching wrist tattoos to commemorate our wedding in Jamaica, Jim at Tymeless also did those for us.
Dave writes: This was done by Jim at Tymeless, as well. It’s a full upper arm/shoulder tat representing my love of biking.
Erin writes: Fun fact: after a flamingo gives birth, she temporarily loses her pink color due to stress and demands of motherhood. However, as they raise and nurture their offspring, they gradually regain their vibrant pink. As a mom of 5 boys (11, 9, 5, 2, 9 months) I am in throws of motherhood but will eventually get my pink back as they grow!
When I was young, my father owned a boat called THE BULLFROG and we had a camp up on the St. Lawrence River on Maple Island. My mother had gotten my dad a jacket that said CAPTAIN, and her one that said FIRST MATE. When I was about 4, she found a cute little bullfrog patch (with a bow tie) and put it on a pair of shorts that I called my “boat shorts”. I wore them until they didn’t fit. When my sister had her first daughter, my mother passed those shorts along to her- then when I had my daughter, my sister passed them back to me. It meant so much. My dad passed away in 2019. In cleaning my daughter’s room, the shorts showed up and flooded me with memories and emotions. My tattoo is of the frog from patch from my shorts- and he is sitting on a Maple leaf to represent our camp- and my dad’s favorite place (also where we scattered his ashes).
