Welcome To Chi-Tonw Tommorrow

If you're going to get a tattoo that involves having something spelled out, for God sakes, make sure you know how to spell whatever it is that will be on your body forever. And if you're not intelligent enough to a) know how to spell the actual word, b) find someone who looks like they can spell or, c) get a freaking dictionary, then don't sue the poor spellers at the tattoo parlor where you had yourself incorrectly inked for time and all eternity. (I'm sure you can see where this is going.)

In Chicago, Alfonse Wingfield is suing the Jade Dragon Tattoo parlor because the word "tomorrow" in Wingfield's tattoo is misspelled as "tommorrow". According to the lawsuit that Wingnut Wingfield filed, the tattoo was supposed to read "Tommorrow Never Promised Today. John P. R.I.P." (Huh. Elegant.) Mike Edrington, the tattoo-er, says that he inked the tattoo just as it was written, which was "tommorrow". He did so even though Wingfield told employees he was not sure of the spelling of the "tomorrow." What? You're "not sure"? And you didn't bother to BE sure? Perhaps instead of the uncertainty factor, you should have gone with "the next day" instead of "tomorrow". (Actually, perhaps you should have gone with a Magic Marker instead of a tattoo gun.) You sir, are what is known in many parts of this fine land, as "a moron".

Wingnut Wingfield says that the tattoo cost him $250. It was not until a family member informed him that the word was misspelled. So, he didn't even figure it out himself. Never even bothered to check, look it up, nothing. Uh-huh. He DID go back and say that the spelling was wrong, but Edington said that it wasn't. It was THEN and only then, when there was some confusion and concern as to how the word was actually spelled, that anyone bothered to look it up. That's when Edington also learned how to spell "tomorrow". But what was done was done. And the lawsuit did then ensue. (Pun probably intended.)

So now he's suing for lots of alleged "failure to do"s. Failure to ensure proper spelling. Failure to assure that there would be no typos (can you have a "typo" if you're not exactly "typing" anything?). Failure to spell "tomorrow" correctly. And the list of unsubstantial points goes on. (And oddly enough, all of the "failures" that he alleges that the tattoo guys committed are the exact same things that HE himself did not do either! Hmm. Guess he can't sue himself, though. So the tattoo guys it is!) Maybe it's because the list of "failures" is so long that is the reason that he's only recently filed this lawsuit when he got the tattoo on February 25, 2006! Over two years! What has he been doing for two years?! Trying to find "T"? (It is quite a ways down in the alphabet. Maybe he kept losing his place. Dude, just keep singing that song! You'll get there!)

But here's the best part: The same tattoo place was sued by a different guy just 17 months ago for spelling his tattoo wrong! That time is was the word "Chi-Town" that was butchered into "Chi-Tonw" that Michael Duplessis had on his chest below a John Hancock Center-like skyscraper. (Artistic. And sightly!) AND that guy, while he filed suit in February, 2007, received HIS tattoo in 2005! Again, I ask, what was he doing for two years? (Wait. THAT is supposed to be the John Hancock building? I'd be suing over the depiction of that more than I would the Chi-Tonw debacle. But I wouldn't be doing it two years later! No, I'd get right on that!) Oh, and AGAIN, someone else, this time Duplessis's wife, told him that it was spelled wrong. :::sigh:::

The Chi-Tonw story took an interesting turn (one that I didn't see coming). Because it would seem as though having a misspelled tattoo would be pretty easy to avoid (thus eliminating the need for a lawsuit by simply admitting to yourself that you screwed up by OK-ing the design before the guy even started), a bunch of people came up with a way to show their support for those at the Jade Dragon. Their show of solidarity and support came in the form of getting tattoos. Tattoos that said, you guessed it, "Chi-Tonw."

Their point was that whatever you're getting tattooed on your body is no accident and mistakes can be prevented if you want them to. And while I think that the gesture those guys made had great feeling behind it, it seems a bit extreme to me. (And before you start, the answer is no, I am not ANTI tattoo. And the other answer is yes. YES, I have a tattoo.) It just seems a bit much to have to show your support with a permanent (and incorrect) marking on your body. I mean, I realize that your support could be permanent, but couldn't you express that by just calling them every day and letting them know that way or something? ("Hey, dudes. Yep! Still behind you! All right, gotta go! Talk to you tomorrow!")

Even though you do dumb things sometimes, that doesn't mean that you still don't have to take responsibility for them. You can't always blame someone else (via lawsuit) for your mistakes. You just need to admit that you screwed up and then move on (hopefully with some new found knowledge as to how to avoid the same sort of mistake in the future). And when you do move on, do it immediately. Don't wait two years. Oh, and don't move on with a lawyer either. That's never good for anyone, really.

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