"Ouch! Help. You're tickling; that thing hurts!" screamed a patient while Pete, the painless tatoo man at Scollay Square, received the CRIMSON reporter yesterday.
Talking above the victim's protests, Pete said, "I do plenty tattoos for Harvard mugs--they like the high class woiks. Two weeks ago I do a Mona Lisa on arm of Harvard Freshman. He like her so much, he say he get Jean Harlow on stomach next week maybe. You like know how much Harvard seal cost. It plenty woik. Good one cost three, four dollars. They say fella named Cunnant out there want to change seal. That good idea--seal they got now too much woik. But I put 'veritas' on you for six bits. On the other hand, Tech boys, they more vulgar. They like nature in the raw" said the burly impressionist as he left his permanent stamp on the wincing customer.
Asked his opinion on the Roosevelt administration, Pete issued the following statement: "Roosevelt, he good man. N. R. A. is good thing. But it hurt my woik. Last Saturday I tattoo elephant on man from Brockton. I am all finish except elephant's trunk. It is midnight. I have to quit, 'cause N. R. A. say I no can woik except 48 hours one week. I have leave elephant without no trunk. Man from Brockton, he won't pay me. He say elephant is walrus, not elephant. He get mad, I have throw him out."
Before the reporter had finished asking Pete if he had any tattoos himself, the talented artist had ripped aside his ragged shirt and lo. and behold! a huge squirming serpent slithered slowly across his heaving chest. "His name Medusa", proudly explained 'Pete. "The grand master, he done that. It take him two days. He say it do best masterpiece he ever do."
"And who is this grand master?" asked the reporter. "He live on Coney Island. He do hundred tattoos every day. He can woik without use only one hand. He woik for big bankers. One time he tattoo senator from Washington. He very famous."
Questioned concerning how he got his training in the ancient art, the learned tattooist concluded the interview saying, "I take course in fine arts one time from I. C. S. Boys no live there, but it plenty good school like Harvard."
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Phillips Brooks House Notes