motivation

I got word today that my oldest nephew M., the tattoo artist, who works in a shop owned by a member of a motorcycle gang (surprise!), now has a tattoo on his face.

Now I can't think of many reasons a person would get a tattoo on the face in this day and age, on this continent, in this so-called society. Is this a gang mark? Does this ensure this newly-initiated individual doesn't have any out - since the mark will forever separate him from the rest of the world? This particular gang is pretty involved in the distribution of meth in this state. Should I take the next step and wonder how involved he is in this kind of activity?

Quite frankly I don't expect to have any contact with this fellow after we move to Washington. And while I have a pretty fierce feelings regarding family, there's nothing I can do for this guy - no way I can help him, no example I can set, no love I can give him that will help.

When he was flunking out of high school, I had offered to take him into our home in Illinois. But I knew he'd be trouble, so I wanted legal guardianship, in order to be able to intervene at school, get him medical care, etc. His father (my sister's ex) refused this, so M. continued to live in a household (with the father) where the first kid home got the dinner money, and the second kid went hungry. A home where all family members (the father and two sons) were stealing from one another, so the father put padlocks on their respective doors. A home where, when the father had a date, the sons were out on the streets. This kind of father, who unsurprisingly and naturally blames everything on the mother.

Anyway. Out of sight, out of mind. I hope.