It was the night time of Friday, October 30, 1992, and we didn’t have a celebration occurring on the fraternity that night time. So, I obtained a handful of brothers and the pledge class and headed to the Cellar, a beer bar on the College of Maryland that was the simplest to get into for underage college students.
The bar was fairly lifeless once we obtained there, and we took turns shopping for pitchers and dancing. After an hour or so, extra individuals began filtering in, and the dance ground obtained more and more extra crowded.
I used to be just a few beers in and feeling good when a fist got here out of nowhere and smashed me sq. on the nostril. I by no means noticed it coming. This man who threw the sucker punch by no means stated a phrase to me.
All I knew was that it harm like hell and I couldn’t see something for just a few seconds. Then, I spotted blood was gushing out of my nostril. This man broke my rattling nostril. My shirt was lined in blood, and I pinched it to attempt to cease the blood movement.
Some guys who have been with me helped me again to the Pi Kappa Alpha home. It was simply across the nook, however my painful face made it laborious to navigate. As we walked via the entrance door, my brother, Mike, and a few different guys have been there, and he requested what had occurred.
I advised Mike how a bunch of us have been simply consuming and dancing on the Cellar, and a random man threw a sucker punch at me. He advised me to go up, change out of my bloody shirt, and are available again down.
Once I returned to the entrance door, Mike and Rob, a fraternity brother who performed on the College of Maryland hockey crew, advised me to go together with them again to the Cellar. Once we obtained again inside, they requested me to level out who punched me. He was outdoors the loos with three or 4 of his brothers, and I let Mike and Rob know.
The subsequent factor I knew, Mike and Rob have been throwing palms in any respect of these guys, and inside like 30 seconds, they’d dropped each one. I felt higher, however nonetheless wished to return to my room and chill.
Earlier than I might do this, one of many guys in our home stated I ought to go to the hospital and get it checked out. I hopped in his automobile, and we have been off to the emergency room, the place we spent the following many hours ready to be seen.
Once I lastly obtained to return and have a health care provider take a look at me, they spent only a few minutes cleansing me up, placing tape throughout my face, and stated I ought to ice it usually and sleep with my head elevated.
Once I obtained again to my room, I crashed laborious till lunchtime. My face appeared tough within the mirror. This white piece of tape was holding my nostril in place, and every little thing round it was pink, apart from beneath my eyes, each of which have been on the way in which to being black eyes.
We had a Halloween celebration scheduled that night time, and one good factor to return out of all of this was that I discovered my costume… a prizefighter. All I wanted was a gown, in order that was cool.
That Saturday additionally occurred to be the day I used to be going to fulfill my girlfriend’s father for the primary time. We made plans for lunch, and I hadn’t talked about something to her earlier than assembly up, so she was stunned and anxious after I rolled up with a bashed-in nostril.
I used to be frightened her dad would assume I used to be some knucklehead who obtained into fights often, so I apologized after I met him and advised him the story. He simply laughed and stated he was within the Air Power and noticed many damaged noses from nights on the bar.
The subsequent couple of weeks have been very uncomfortable. I couldn’t blow my nostril, and after I slept, if my nostril even brushed in opposition to my pillow, it could make my eyes water from the ache.
However I’m a glass half full man, and I did notice a profit from this punk shocking me along with his cowardly fist. Earlier than the punch, my nostril was barely crooked. After I obtained punched after which healed, my nostril was roughly straight. I’d gotten a free rhinoplasty, so there was a profit on the finish.
Thanks for having my again, Mike and Rob.
Initially printed at https://shawncollins512.substack.com.
