"The design was a collaboration between me, my wife Delene, and the brilliant tattoo artist Watson Atkinson. This particular section of my huge tattoo project was done in Atlanta in 2007. Watson is currently at Blndsght Tattoo in Portland, Maine.

A favorite ritual upon moving to Athens, Georgia in 1995 was listening to local college station WUOG every Sunday morning for Dr. Martin Luther King Speaks. I was entranced and elevated by MLK's rich melodic tenor, his message of reconciliation, peace, and societal improvement. His encouragement to awaken the slumbering beast of universal brother and sisterhood helped in my releasing that which can't stand the light of day. I felt gratitude to be living in Georgia, in the heart of this sweeping and long overdue change. Some years on I began my tattooing and wanted a strong central anchor. My chest seemed a good place to highlight my hope for a world where we are all accorded without prejudice. The word "colorblind" is written backwards to highlight a graphic sense, and to recognize that words are only surface symbols pointing to something deeper. It's framed by 3's or E's, depending on your vantage. "33" is known as the age of wisdom and a nice entry into focused meditation. "EE" stands for "embrace extemporaneity," my unofficial improviser's motto. I'm also slightly red-green colorblind, and my father was completely colorblind, so I come by it honest. But the motivation was not to advertise my visual acuity or lack thereof, rather to celebrate the everyday work-in-progress of relating to one another."