Dan,
I always advise those interested in tattoos to wait until age 25 to get one. If they make it to there I suggest 30. At that point I think it's a safe bet that the images inked will be deep and meaningful, the soul writ large on the skin, versus something that will fade in soul value.
Before I ever got ink I learned so much about the history of the art and what the archaic purpose of tattooing was, above and beyond, mere decoration. It's a powerful thing but I agree that many of the butterfly/heart/kanji pieces will be fodder for removal in a few years.
On another note, when we pruned the trees at Sugarloaf I kept having very powerful trascendent experiences as well as deep foreboding with overtones of Native American energy. Finally, high in a white oak I was doing a simple reposition procedure and knocked half my front tooth off. After that I refused to go back. Although I did go in one afternoon and burn sage. In the process I found some stone mounds and saw others that had been hastily destroyed.
Hope to see your rear wheel fade into the distance on Saturday. :)

Peace,

Steven

Steven, Your tattoo age recomendations are sensible. My Mom used to say the same thing about marriage, I'm pretty sure she was correct also.

A funny but true quote:
"I'm no longer young enough to know everything."