G.H.E.T.T.O.

Simple title, simpler story.

Me and "girlfriend" ...actually before I get into the story I need to come up with some kind of way of mentioning my girlfriend without actually saying her name. I'd copy Arlene with her "the boy" references, but that doesn't actually seem to fit me. I think I will use "girlfriend" with the quotation marks around it until I figure something better out.

Ok, so rewind, "Girlfriend" has just moved into a new apartment in VA (Virginia sucks ass) and needed some more stuff for the apartment. Mind you we had already gone to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond (to be referenced as BBB from now on) the day after she moved, but last week she seemed to need some more stuff from BBB. In her typical indecisive fashion she only bought 1 of the things she went for, even though everything she was looking for was in the store, but I digress...the point of this story is in the checkout line. We got rung up at the customer service counter, because for some reason at BBB you need 3 people to work customer service, but only one on the actual registers. While waiting for the cashier to enter in some coupon, I glanced over to the other Customer Service People to see what they were doing. As one of them bent down to pick something up, her shirt lifted up, exposing her lower back...and there it was. A tattoo.

Now I know plenty has been written and said about the significance of a lower back tattoo on a female i.e. target practice, and/or questionable sexual history. But this one had a more concrete and unmistakable meaning. Her tattoo read "G.H.E.T.T.O." spelled out just like that in some type of gothic font. I don't think I've seen a more questionable tattoo that was just one word. It was like a stroke of brilliance on her part. I'm sure she asked herself "What tattoo can I get that explains me in one word? And what location should I put it in for maximum impact" and thus the word "ghetto" on her back was born.

"Girlfriend" noticed the tattoo as well and as we are walking out of the store we both pretty much had the same reaction "Well I think that summed up everything we need to know about that person without having spoken to her once". I questioned whether or not I should mention that she was Black/African American/whatever...I figure most of you would make that assumption anyway. Maybe I'm being to judgmental but at this point I don't care, whatever person decides that's something that needs to be on her body in that place, probably has little to nothing in common with me other than skin color. Whatever.

Black people make me sad some times.

Sigh...