Backstory:
I work part time as a "body adornment specialist" which essentially means I'm a body piercer. I work at a shop that is owned and operated by someone who is a fairly big deal in the body modification industry. You may have seen him on TV, or at least seen his work on show's like Ripley's Believe it or Not. When people start looking into a certain piercing or procedure, their research usually leads them to us. I can't take any credit for this, as it is my boss who's built this business and his name in the industry.
Anywho, the shop opens at noon. We usually meet for a late brunch at an area eatery, where we talk about the last night's happenings, business in general, and other topics of general interest.
the Big Deal:
Today, we met at a deli. When we walked in, the first thing I noticed was a group of about 10 people sitting in the corner in full dress attire. But it was such a diverse group, that it was clear they were witnesses. Upon closer inspection, I realized I knew about half of the people sitting there. One young lady, however, was strikingly beautiful. And we locked eyes. Now, I'm standing there with my girlfriend, and my boss and his fiance. My boss and I are both heavily pierced, stretched, and tattooed. We look rather unorthodox, and we usually stand out in a crowd. So its no big deal to make awkward eye contact with several strangers in any establishment we may enter. My boss and I are also both wearing t-shirts with our shop's logo emblazoned across the backs.
Ok, so we get our food, go sit down, eat, chat it up, talk about life's happenings, share some anecdotes, pretty much, we enjoy a Saturday morning for what it was meant for. Then we leave and head back to the shop. My girlfriend says goodbye, and so does my boss's. They both are going jogging, and then shopping.
So, we get everything going in the shop. Lights, clean counters, autoclaves on, satanic rock kicking out the speakers, computers on and primed for "research".
Then all of a sudden, the gorgeous girl from the deli opens the door and walks in.
(For the record, my boss doesn't really like dealing with random people, so i deal with the walk ins / random stoppers by)
I welcome her, and introduce myself, ask her name, all the standard jive.
Then she states her purpose for coming in.
She's interested in genital piercing, not only because it would be a secret indulgence to her, but also because she feels she's caught in a dead end religion and this would be a nice form of silent rebellion for her.
So I just out and say it. "Yeah, I know the feeling, I used to be a Witness too". Folks, things might have been less shocking if I had jumped over the counter and hurled myself through the window.
She was taken aback, but in a good way. We got to talking, and she just moved here from out of state, and since she's gotten here, she's really started to doubt the Witnesses, and now she has nothing to lose by leaving.
I gave her a brief synopsis of my story. We talked about how I ended up where i am today, and then got to talking about life, work, everything.
It was really nice, and I think it made her start feeling really comfortable with herself for wanting the piercing.
So my boss had been listening the whole time, and expressed his happiness that she was freeing herself from the chains of Witness oppression (he knows my story). Then he told her that whatever she wanted done was on the house today, and went on to talk about body modification and its spiritual aspects and its history.
She did decide to get pierced, and handled everything really well.
She did tip well (hell yes for NONfrugal JWs), and as she left, she gave us both a big hug, and my boss threw her a shop tshirt, and told her to take freedom seriously, and get out of the Witnesses as soon as possible.
So I just thought that was really weird. I mean, look at the random things that happened... We ate at that deli, we were wearing shop tshirts (we don't usually both wear them), and she came in, she was a witness....
Its just totally random, but I found it really neat, and figured I'd share it here.
And nothing says rebellion like a little metal in your pants.