ere Jesus and his disciples are gathered around a long table. Near the right side of the building there’s a small hallway that directs people to the male or female washrooms. On those white walls there are pictures of Indian art such as Shiva, which is a woman dressed in an orange, yellow, and purple gown. On another visit to Ground Zero I got a chance to interview. As I approached Jared, he greeted me with a bright smile and a firm handshake. We stood in front of Ground Zero Tattoo where I introduced myself, and my memory must have faded because I was very surprised to see that he looked like a rave kid. Sad as it is, I had fit him into the preconceptions of his subculture. He has spiked dark brown hair, and sharp brown eyes with thick black eyelashes. When we made our way south on Northwestern Avenue, I had a chance to get overall view of Jared. He’s about 5’11”, and nothing but skin and bones. His pants sag a little, even though he’s wearing a belt, and he has a multi-colored buttoned up shirt. He has both his ears pierced, and instead of a hoop or stud, there’s a thick black dot with a hole in the middle. Interesting, huh? Our conversation started off slow. Jared had been piercing people for only a couple of years, and he learned from finding a few friends to practice on. “ That’s the way to do it. If you can get a few friends to let you poke them, then you’ll just get better at it and then you’ll get a job.” He stated so proudly, but I felt so bad for his friends. Also, he mentioned to me that there are no “schools” specified in teaching people how to pierce or tattoo. Sometimes the way to learn is to watch others as they do it. Actually that’s the only way to learn how in this field of work. I must have gotten carried away with the conversation, because I found myself sitting next to him on a cold metal bench near Chancey Hill. He leaned forward w...
