i barely know this guy and one drunken night i gave him my number so we could go riding sometime.
AND NOW HE WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE.
and i've seen him cry already.
and he hits me up for money all the fucking time.
what does a bro do?
― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 18:18 (twenty years ago)
Tattoo artist's teary sitdown
By BRITTANY SCHAEFFER and JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
The shaken Brooklyn tattoo artist who watched a man collapse and die in front of him Friday found comfort yesterday from an unexpected source - the dead man's family.
Julio Ramos could only kneel and pray at his East Williamsburg shop Friday when Joaquin Laguer, 27, passed out and fell headfirst into a glass counter, opening a neck wound that took his life.
Yesterday, he closed his store and was reading an article about the tragedy at a Bushwick Ave. bodega when the man next to him said, "That's my brother," Ramos said.
"I was scared to death," said Ramos, 36. "It felt like a bolt of lightning hit me. I feel so guilty about what happened."
But Ramos' worries were quickly put to rest by Laguer's brother, who invited him to meet with his family, including Shanequa Neal, the mother of the victim's daughter.
"I just want to say God bless that whole family," said Ramos. "After meeting with them, it's like I'm family."
Joaquin Laguer, an aspiring rapper and father of a 2-year-old girl, had felt faint after getting a wizard design called "Last Rites" inked on his arm at Buzz Tattoo. He collapsed when reaching for his food.
Ramos had initially begged off doing the work, recommending that Laguer go to a parlor across the street. But he relented when Laguer spotted photos of celebrities sporting tattoos done at Buzz Tattoo.
"[Laguer's] wife was very reassuring," said Ramos. "She just explained that Joaquin was very insistent that way."
"A good guy is gone," said Chris Brown, 22, Laguer's stepbrother. "There is no bringing him back, he was one in a million.
Originally published on October 16, 2005
― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:10 (twenty years ago)