Joe 2’s email came in from halfway around the world:

My name is Joe Criel II

I’m stationed in Japan with the USN and I’ve been getting homesick more and more every day. So I decided to show my love for the city and get this tattoo so I could feel closer to home.

I got it at a shop called Boobies in Okinawa, Japan on April 6th 2017. I don’t remember the artists name though.

I was born in Round Lake IL, in Lake County. Obviously when you tell people that they have no clue what you’re talking about, so I find it easier to just say Chicago, plus I’ve always seemed to feel more at home amongst the pace of the city. October 1st will be my 5th year in the Navy and officially the end of my contract. After that I’m hoping to get accepted at N.I.U. and/or get a job serving the community.

Chicago is everything to me, from the food to the music. What other city can lay claims to Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, Jennifer Hudson, R. Kelly, Nat King Cole, Alkaline Trio, or even Styx? We even have ties to Soundgarden and blink-182! That’s just the music scene, and not even half of it. If you think our Hip-Hop scene is big, you should just look at our Rock history. The Buckinghams, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, Cheap Trick, Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, Disturbed, OK GO, Plain White T’s, Rise Against and Fall Out Boy! Stop me if I’ve said too much. We got deep dish, Lake Michigan, The Loop, Al Capone, The Taste of Chicago, Pride every June, The Sear’s Tower, Lincolin Park, amazing museums and nobody does St. Patty’s like we do!

Every few days somebody will ask me what the stars represent, one guy asked me why I had so many “Stars of David” on my knuckles. I always love telling them where they are from and the what each star represents to our great city and the history behind it. They say I’m too proud of Chicago, I say there is no such thing. What I love more than telling people about the stars is finding fellow Chicagoans, which is pretty rare, and getting to talk to them about what kind of experiences they had growing up and what brought them into the military. So far, I’ve only had one person who was not from Illinois recognize the stars, but I’m convinced it’s because he was stationed in Great Lakes for a while.

You are more than welcome to publish my name, Joe S. Criel II, as well as quote as much as you’d like. I’m sorry if I said too much, I tend to ramble when I’m excited or passionate about something.