Eric Catalano didn't know what to expect when he offered free small pink ribbon tattoos in support of people who were fighting cancer. What he got was a full load of work for a week in Hecker at his Eternal Ink Tattoo Studio. "On Wednesday, more people came through here than live in town," he said. "I was having to go to the supplies store every day to stock up. They loved seeing me come."The lines went out the door most days and the studio was crowded on Thursday, the last day Catalano was doing the free tattoo promotion. Most of the people saw the offer online, or through friends and word of mouth. Catalano and three other artists at the studio would apply the pink ribbon tattoos to support the fight against breast cancer for free. Normally it is a $30 tattoo. "I knew so many people suffered from cancer and there are not many ways we could support causes like this," he said. The shop had provided more than 300 tattoos through Wednesday and expected to go over 400 at the end of Thursday.
"Each tattoo takes about five minutes," Catalano said. "It takes a few minutes to set up and then sterilize everything afterwards."The small pink ribbon tattoo came in three styles. Kara Myers of Columbia was first in the chair on Thursday. She had hers put on the back of her neck. She said it was for a very good friend of hers whose mother had passed away from cancer.
"Her mom got sick while we were going to college and driving together," Myers said. "I was kind of her support system."Catalano said there were a handful of guys who got the tattoo but it mostly was women, including some who had never been tattooed before. "I heard a lot of sad stories but there were a lot of uplifting stories as well," he said.
Joyce Degenhardt of New Athens has a friend with lung cancer, a friend with cancer in her lymph nodes and another friend whose cancer is in remission. She was getting her tattoo on her left ankle. Tonya Cowan of East Carondelet said her best friend was dealing with breast cancer right now. "She's right behind me in line," Cowan said.
That was Faye Madison of Belleville who said she was doing well in her battle against the disease. It was her first tattoo and it was going on her ankle. She was nervous but made it through with ease. "The biggest problem is how to tell my mother. She going to kill me," Madison said. "Tell her I forced you," Cowan told her.
"I don't want her finding out about it on the five o'clock news," Madison said, shrinking from a potential television interview. Uh, how about in the newspaper?