When I came home from Basic Training and Tech School, I had a tattoo on my left bicep. A Confederate Battle Flag with the word "Tennessee" underneath it. My mom saw it and asked about it. I told her that it was an iron on, and would wash off after a couple months. She said, "oh, okay," and was satisfied with the answer. After she left the room, my dad turns to me and says, "she's going to figure that out in about ten minutes. You better be someplace else when she does."
More about the Tennessee tattoo. People would ask, "Are you from Tennessee?" I would respond, "No, I just couldn't spell Mississippi."
I was at a Bill Cosby show at the Las Vegas Hilton with my uncle (he was Reebok CFO at the time). There were a ton of tv and movie stars there as part of a children's trust tennis tournament, and I was getting walked around and introduced to folks. John Forsythe was at the table next to us, and he saw the tattoo and asked "Are you from Tennessee?" I told him I was, and he asked "Which part?" I'm a smart ass and answered, "All of me!" He laughed, but the pretty, young model that was at the table with him didn't get it. He looked at her, smiled, and said "I'm not going to try to explain it to you."