During our trip to visit family in Georgia, we spent our afternoons and evenings swimming in my grandmother's beautiful yet consistently frigid rock-lined pool. In the first swim-session, Blake and I got into a friendly tussle over a rubber ball during which I managed to break my nose.

As you know, I am a bit of a rough-houser and accident-finder. You should all remember how I caught myself on fire Freshman year of college and how, just earlier this summer, I managed to bust my lip, smack my nose silly, and bite my own hand all in one brilliant fall while tubing with Blake and friends in the swamps of South Louisiana.

My nose break wasn't too bad. Since Blake's elbow pretty much had a straight hit under the nostrils, it isn't particularly crooked. My schnoz is just a bit swollen and puffy around the middle where a pressure point immediately geysered blood. And I now have a new little speed bump in my profile.

In any case, Blake was beside himself for "breaking" and "disfiguring" me, but I doubt it's even noticeable to anyone besides us. He just felt really bad because I bled so horribly all over the pool deck and quite frightened my mother and grandmother.

I've always wanted a more interesting nose. Mine is small, and rather straight to begin with--a bit too pug but really rather dull in general. I envy Blake's and anyone else with large or long or beakish smellers. I'm fond of humps and ridges and flaring nostrils. Nostrils that close. Nostrils lickable by one's own tongue, so great is the downward angling of the nose tip. Noses leaning to one side. Noses squashed at the bottom. Bulbous is another matter, but some can pull it off quite well.

Now I'm one step closer to having my own fabulous snoot!

Labels: accident injury pool Georgia broken nose noses