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Raleigh, NC – Tony Lawson, a tattoo artist of the No Regrets Tattoo on Hillsborough Street, has lost so much business because of COVID-19. This forces him to work at Wal-Mart.

Left and right, no matter where you live, the pandemic of Corona Virus ravages individuals. If not by a threat to health, than by shortening the welfare. Curbing the enthusiasm. Limiting ways of making money. Essential jobs? What use are they if they aren’t essential for your happiness?

I can go on and on about how this problematic pandemic has rippled and ruptured every economy. But that’s not what this story is about. No, sir. This in specific is about one man’s struggle to face facts.

The brass tacks are this: Tony Lawson may be a great tattoo artist but his $10,000 debt has landed him in desperate waters. By this, I mean taking up a second job in retail.

Lawson assures for no worries. “It’s just what I want to do so I gotta make it work.” Although, the extra workload and pressure to keep both in the balance has forced the tattoo artist to operate by appointment only.

But because of the very real fear that another lockdown can knock this country back several more steps, Lawson will likely keep both going. Especially at Wal-Mart.

Now, had Lawson made different decisions in the past, such as not close up shop the first two months of the pandemic or hired employees? Maybe all this could have been avoided.

In any case, chances are that the masked mule-work of saving money will be his only chance of living better. Always at the low price of sacrificing the bulk of his time to avoiding tattoos. The circumstances of which are just a byproduct of being alive.

And if ever you’re in the area and would like to don upon yourself a tattoo, please check out No Regrets Tattoo, on Hillsborough Street.