I lived in Portland, Oregon for many years. It was an old neighborhood around Grand and Hawthorne boulevard. There was an old three-story brick building there that had been a hotel, later an apartment complex, and even later, on the first floor businesses while the top two floors remained apartments.
I always loved the way that building looked. It had character. On the outside, the rain gutters were made from cast iron and had gargoyles at the roof. I was excited when a tattoo shop opened up so close to home, and decided I wouldn't wait any longer for that tattoo I wanted.
Typically, when a tattooist is working, they will wrap a paper towel lengthwise around the pinky and ring finger of the hand holding the tattoo machine. This way, they can wipe as the tattoo. As the paper becomes covered in ink they just let it fall to the floor and grab another paper towel. This is where things got interesting.
About halfway through the tattoo, the power goes out in the entire building. People reach for flashlights, a few really big candles get lit, and my tattooist tells me not to worry, because he has a set of portable machines he uses when he tattoos at fairs. He quickly produces these and begins to tattoo by candlelight. I have to admit, it was pretty cool being tattooed by candlelight. The flames of the candles would bounce casting strange shadows on the walls of the old building.
As he works on me, dirty napkins fall to the floor pretty regularly. Eventually the lights came on, and he switched back to the electrical tattoo machines but I noticed something on the pile of napkins that got my attention. It just moved all by itself. I wondered if an old building like this could have rats. There are rats in Portland, but no one likes to talk about them.
I bent down and picked up one of the strips of napkins that had been folded about 1 inch wide and began to unravel it, and this is what I saw. It affected me, to say nothing about the tattoo artist who was freaking out showing it to everyone else. I kept it and framed it. I have been tempted to give him a name, and have spent many hours staring at it. I thought I would share.