(click on the photos to see the rest of the story!)
Sunday was a beautiful, glorious day. The sun was bright, the snow on the field was brilliant and soft. The neighborhood was relaxed and still [insert lower timbered male voice over] but then a friendly game of wrap-up football turned into a BLOOD BATH the likes of which only the most seasoned slasher-movie fans could stomach. Blood and boogers GUSHED from Andy Murphy’s nose! (okay, there wasn’t really any snot). At first, Andy was all smiles and chuckled, “Oh it’s just a nosebleed.” But, since I could see his nose–and he couldn’t–I could tell there was a big welt and split at the site of impact! Andy sat down, a stream of blood splurted from his nose and he quickly lost all the color in his face. Every time he took his hand away there was a 1.5 second delay before the blood squirted again.

We were very alarmed. I overheard someone say they had heard the crunch when the ball hit the bridge of Andy’s nose. Tom and Michael rushed to get towels (and a hunk of pineapple upside-down cake?) and Dan instructed Andy to keep pressure on the upper lip to stem the bloodflow. Andy’s hands shook and blood trickled down his wrist. That finger under his nose really did the trick though. Soon, the blood and swelling subsided enough that he could get into Sherry’s car and head to the hospital. We applauded as the injured player left the field with a supply of towels and a cup of snow.
Andy returned after an hour–the verdict? He lived. His nose was broken, but there’s not much they do for treatment. It’s not all bad, perhaps Andy has traded a smidge of his boyish good looks for an ounce of rugged good looks.

I really can’t give a play by play of the rest of the game–I was too busy shelling and eating peanuts, but I think east-side lost to the west-side . . . drat. Maybe we need some cheerleaders or a mascot to rally the team . . . or just more practice! Feel free to chime in with more details–like captions or names–thanks.