FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A heart with a dagger inside is permanently inked on Robin Leroy’s shoulder.
It’s a lasting memory of a woman who broke his heart when he was 19 years old.
“I was dating this girl when I was in the Army in Manheim, Germany,” Leroy said.
Leroy said he got the tattoo on Valentine’s Day decades ago with his Army buddies.
“They all said, let’s go do it. And we went and did it.”
However, the trend for spontaneous, love-themed tattoos on Valentine’s Day has been waning over the years.
That’s according to Dylan Glaze, who is the owner of Darklight Tattoo on Greenwood Avenue in Fort Smith.
Glaze has been a tattoo artist for more than 15 years and said he remembers when people got symbols of love on Cupid’s holiday such as small hearts or a significant date to their romance.
These days, he said people typically gravitate to bigger and more-detailed pieces of artwork on their bodies, which require multiple sessions in the chair with tattoo artists.
“They’re more likely to come in, and get a gift certificate, and let their significant other come in and choose their tattoo,” Glaze explained.
Although the sales he does on Valentine’s Day are negligible, he said the holiday does help drive more traffic into his store because it’s a gift-giving holiday.
Glaze coyly reminded people that if they chose to get impromptu ink on Valentine’s Day, make sure it’s the name of someone worthy of a permanent spot on your body.
As for Leroy, he could always get the tattoo removed, but he chooses to keep it because it’s a part of his memories.
While the past is in the past, for the most part, Leroy is now making memories with his forever love.
“Everyone remembers their one true love, too, and that’s my wife right now: Sherry. “