There was this time, Larry Shaw always would give us little pieces of advise, and one of the cardinal rules of the show bay Shaw’s was- “ never open the doors for customers after you have turned out the neons and locked the door, we had one of them buttons that you let people in like a pawn shop, the shop was in a pretty seedy area and was always really busy. At the same time there were always people trying to rob us also and more times then I can count, the shop “ Dagos” would crank call us saying , “ put all the money in a bag and put it outside, do not try to call the cops” of course they never told us who they were and it happened a lot, no one had ever thought to star 69 the caller, one night after one of them really busy nights we got that call, I decided to just call them back, they were surprised when I didn’t the same spill on them as they did to us all the time. That was the last time that happened. But to get to the point, “Don’t open the shop after your closed “ I had cleaned up and locked the tumbler lock to keep the shop secure, we used lockers in the back room to keep out inks, machines and most all what we used at out stations, the power supplies were mounted in the counter. It was our job to clean the shop well, and keep it smelling good, and I had done all that and was out to my truck, a blue 1985 Chevy short bed. Clean, and out of the street comes driving up to the shop, it was foggy and raining lightly out and kinda chilly, a limousine, not one of them stretch ones, more like an longer town car that seats face each other, the window rolled down and the Italian monsters sticks his hand out with a roll of 100s to choke a horse, “ I need tattooed now”!! He yelled out, I gave home the, we’re closed speech but nothing doing, he peeled off a few 100s “ this is your tip, then I’ll pay for the tattoos, now this was when the flash had the prices on them, no way to jack them up, but I did!! – finally I agreed to open and tattoo, he chose out 4/5 clean designs, I pulled the acetates out and get him shaved up, knocked out a bowling pin eagle, and a name, he carried the brick phone, and while he and I were chatting his driver sat in the pony rail and waited for him, from time to time he would walk out and use the pay phone, and back in to watch, the Italian guy smoked a big cigar and drank a few small bottles of booze. The kind you get in a hotel, his phone rand and a serious tone. “Yes!, are you sure? And I to the phone he sounded angry, then he hung up and jumped to his feet. “ where is that little F***? “ The driver , was outside leaning on the car at that point, he said , “open the door” I pushed the buttons and he waved him in, no more then the small man drives walked in, the Italian grabbed him in a head lock, it was fast, the Italian then ask, “you got a gun! “ of course I did, but I’d never give it up, I told him no, I had one more tattoo to do and he would be done, the conversation was this, the driver had called one of his constituents and made a plan to break into the hotel room of the Italian and steal his money and what ever else he had, the hotel had called to tell him and it blew up in the drivers face, he was now in a head lock while I tattooed this Italian guy, finally I wrapped his last tattoo up with a clean diaper liner and tape, he had already paid me up front, cash in advance, he drug that skinny driver out and apparently he did have a gun as when he was outside he brandished it and forced the driver in the trunk. Then off into the wet cold night!! And like that, I knew ( never open up after you close) when I tell it is seems glamorous but the real truth was, I was not sure if I’d have to pull my small ass pocket 38 special and settle the deal- we were a lot tougher back then, real tattooers. The new guys will never know that fun.
Picture is Larry Shaw holding his new glock on Abe, the Derelict who sat up our stencils and cleaned the shop, he was tattooed by every big name that worked at the Shaws from 1979 to 1988 sailor Moses, Professor Persnickety,( mark) Johnathan Shaw, Bobby Shaw, Bob Shaw, Richard Stell, and so many more, he’s how you got your job, do a tattoo on him. I also tattooed him, several times.
written by Jodi Olivas Griffin
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