In Honor of the Paternal and the Fraternal

“If by chance I talk a little wild, forgive me; I had it from my father” (Shakespeare’s Henry VIII).

It was the first time I’d seen my father bloodied. A busted-up nose with stitches. The black eyes were in the early stages of discoloration and swelling. It’s the kind of thing that happens when the force of a punch lands square to the nose and the bloo…