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Mothers pushed baby strollers. Rocker-goth chicks brushed shoulders with gray-haired men who had flags tattooed on their arms. Twenty-something guys in black oozed cool.

It was a mixed crowd Saturday at the Fresno Tattoo Expo in the Convention Center.

Jimi Hendrix's song "It's Too Bad" blended with the buzz of tattoo equipment as more than 100 vendors revved up their needles for customers ready to commit to permanent art on legs, arms, backs and heads. What was once the domain of society's rebels now is mainstream.

Yes, we accept MasterCard.

Fresno mother Vicki Crosson, 40, came to have artist Shauna Seligman of Tower Tattoos create the U.S. Marine Corps symbol and the words "Mother of a Marine" on her leg.

"The tattoo is in honor of my son Michael's [Ramirez] commitment. He's in Iraq," Crosson said. "I also have a nephew there. It's a tribute to all Marines."

Crosson's daughter, Angel, 9, was at her side.

"I think she's going to cry," Angel said.

She didn't.

"I don't look at the needle," Crosson said. "If I did, it would be a whole different story."

Tattoo styles were as varied as the tattoo business names: Pain is Beauty (Bakersfield), 1st Amendment Tattoo (Temecula), Faith Tattoo (Santa Rosa), Fillmore Tattoo (Fillmore) and Skin Candy Tattoo Ink (Studio City).

Local shops include Red Wave Tattoo, Skin Decor and Death or Glory Tattoo, among others. Organizer Jason Pistoresi of the Sugar Hill store in Fresno expected 5,000 people to come through the doors by the time it closes today. Vendors paid $450 for booths, and daily admission is $15. This is the fourth year of the expo in Fresno.

"Do I do it for the love of tattoos?" he said. "Actually, it's the money."

Others came for the art.

Eddie Gomez is a former Fresno resident who now has his own shop, Buena Suerte in Pharr, Texas. He worked on a tattoo of a woman's face for Amy Ribas, 31, of Porterville, who wanted it on her shoulder. This is her sixth tattoo.

"I think tattoos are beautiful," Ribas said. "Eddie's work is so fine-lined. I don't think I will go to anyone else. It's worth waiting for him to come to Fresno."

Charlie Jensen of Fresno came to check out possibilities for a new tattoo.

"I got my first tattoo at 18 in Long Beach," he said. The tattoo was a heart and the name Linda. His wife's name is Phyllis.

"I don't mind," she said. "He knew her long ago."

Jacqueline Thompson of San Francisco sold purses, clothing and coffee mugs with tattoo designs. Moms were attracted to the 18-month black onesies that read: "My dad's tattoos are cooler than yours." Another had a skull with a vacuum cleaner, baby bottle and broken heart. It read: "Mom's Ruin."

Thompson got her first tattoo at 55. She felt compelled to get one after joining the tattoo circuit. Expos are held throughout the state. She attends 10 per year.

"Tattoo people are generous, sweet people who are just amazing," she said. "There is a misconception about people with tattoos. They are family people."

Tennessee Dave James of Vintage Tattoo in Los Angeles has been in the business for 45 years. He has no plans to retire.

James, 67, has so many tattoos -- naked women, an elephant, President "Fat Cat" Clinton -- that he's lost count. Sporting a mohawk, James has kept up with the times during his 45-year career. His tattoo art begins at $100.

"If I stop, I'd just dry up like a twig and blow away," James said.