Peter Ponders… Scar Face

I think I was about eight years old when it happened.

I was in the backyard playing tag with my twin brother Paul, my younger brother Sean, and sisters Fran and Kath. Paul was “it.”

I could tell he was going to try and tag me. But I knew a place that he wouldn’t dare follow. My father was spending the weekend patching the roof of our house and left a ladder leaning up against the wall. All I had to do was scamper up the rungs, and Paul would be unable to reach me. Looking back half a century, I can see now that it wasn’t a very smart thing to do. But hey, I was eight.

I was about 10 feet off the ground when Paul reached to tag me. I leaned to the left to avoid him. The next thing I knew, I was falling through space and landing chin-first on concrete. Blood gushed out, and I started screaming for my father. He came down in a flash and scooped me in his arms. Luckily, we lived two blocks from the hospital, and my father was able to carry me in his arms to the emergency room. As the doctor cleaned the wound and started stitching, I remember asking the doc if I was going to have a scar.

He said, once my beard grew in, no one would even notice it.

Not exactly the ringing medical endorsement I was hoping for.

He told me to stay still so he could do the best job of stitching me up. My chin was so mangled he couldn’t use a pain killer because he couldn’t find an area free of damage to inject. I suffered in silence. An hour later, I was home and recuperating.

My biggest concern was that my brother and I were no longer identical twins. I was the one with the messed-up chin.

How the culture has changed. These days, as long as it’s not disfiguring, a scar fits in with many of today’s tattoos and piercings. It’s a symbol of overcoming adversity and can even be a fashion statement.

Here are some celebrities with facial scars who’ve learned to accept them:

• Harrison Ford has a scar just above his chin that he got early in his career. He lost control of his car and hit a tree.
• Tina Fey was slashed in a savage childhood attack.
• Sylvester Stallone suffered nerve damage to his face during birth, giving him that distinct look and drawl.
• Jason Momoa injured his eyebrow in a bar fight, making his tough-guy look and persona especially legit.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones got a neck scar from a tracheotomy to help her breathe.

Like the stars with scars, I’ve come to accept my scar. I don’t blame my father, my late brother Paul, or anyone else but me for the accident.

Oh, my doctor was right. When I let my beard grow, you can hardly notice it.

Peter Reilly lives in Lake Mary with his wife and son. He can be reached at Peter@LakeMaryLife.com.