Having holes in my ear lobes almost three quarters of an inch in diameter gets me some stares and some questions on a very regular basis. For me it mostly happens at gas stations and drive up windows. I'm kind of confused about that because wouldn't those people see, on average, more people in the span of day than most others do? I guess not. So I get the standard, "did that," or, "does that hurt?" and "how did 'they' do that?"
At A Glance Author jasonthe29th Contact jasonthe29th@bme.anon IAM jasonthe29th When Ten years ago or more Artist unknown Studio Claire's Location Mattoon, Illinois
I have gone through a few cycles of "canned" answers to those common questions. Everything from, "I was born like that" to "oh, they're clip-ons". I get a mix of reactions from people. Everything from laughter to dismissals. Lately, when people ask how or why they can see through my lobes, I very seriously tell them in a straightforward tone, that a few years ago, I was accidentally shot in my left ear, and it looked so silly, that I evened up the other side.It is kind of ironic that I should say that to people. Sure it shocks them and then they laugh a little and usually drop the subject, but it is sort of true. When I was in fifth grade I talked my mother into letting me get my left ear pierced. The only place that we knew to get it done, was at the mall. It was done with a regular old piercing gun and a stud. And it came with a free bottle of saline. Now, by today's standards, it is not really a big deal for a guy to have an earring, but growing up in a small rural town, I was pretty unique. No, I wasn't the first guy to get my ear pierced, but around there I was definitely the youngest.
After a few years more and more guys, mostly older than me started getting there left ears pierced until eventually it was common and accepted. Well, as long as it was your left ear its accepted. Over the next few years I acquired a few more left side adornments. I got my lobe pierced again and my cartilage pierced. But I really never liked the look of just having one side done. It felt kind of uneven and I never really bought into the "taboo" of getting my right ear pierced. So I had talked to friends about getting my right ear pierced and it wasn't really thought of as a good idea. I was kind of a small skinny kid who was into art and music and it just wasn't going to look good for me, a guy, to have both ears pierced in a farm town like that. I guess I was just too different. The best advice I got was from my best friend who said, "I know your not gay or anything, but if your going to have both ears pierced, you had better have a girlfriend."
In the end I said fuck it and went to the mall, with my mom, and used birthday money to buy the new Sir-Mix-a-Lot tape and to get my right ear pierced. It was the standard routine, alcohol swap, permission slips, and some lady name Missy with a scrunchy and a smock ramming a little stud through my ear lobe. I think most of the pain comes from the pinching of the stud. I have never had any ear piercings with a needle, so I don't really know how the two would compare.I had a few problems at first, but mostly with old-fashioned guy teachers and grandparents giving me a hard time. I was never threatened or made fun of, and it didn't take long for the new to wear off, so no one really said anything about it. Trends seem to take off fast in small towns, so I was not alone for long. Older, cooler kids got the same thing done and so it was acceptable. I never had any problems healing any of my piercings, but I did have a lot of problems with cheap earrings and cheap metals. Buying a pack of 12 silver hoops for $2.00 at Wal-Mart is not the greatest idea in the world. I'm sure it wont kill you, but neither will eating dirt. It wasn't until I moved here to Georgia that I was introduced to stretching and high quality jewelry. Quality body modification is more accessible here and I have more options now than I did when I was young. I think at that time the gun piercing was a more responsible decision than piercing myself with a safety pin or something like that. If I could do it over again I would prefer needle piercing, but mainly because I would rather hang out at a tattoo shop than the mall. I started gauging up about 5 years ago. I have long lost the cartilage piercing and am down to just one working hole in each ear. It is hard for some people to believe that my holes started out just like theirs, but that's the way it happened.
I got shot in one ear, and decided to even them up.