Thanksgiving at the Kennedy House

Surprisingly, the main event of Thanksgiving day at my house is not the food or the parade. Instead, it happens down the street at the local park. Every year, at the same time, on the same field, with the same rules. It's a football pick up game to 21 between my brother and I (with my dad as All-time QB). It's a game that's been going on for several years. The all time record is 1-1-4 with 4 ties, mostly because no one ever fails to score. Two on one isn't necessarily easy to defend. Two years ago, it took 5 Overtimes before we gave up and went home. Last year, the game got stopped at 14-14 because of the mud. This year, I was down 14-21 getting ready to receive for the final drive to tie it up, when my brother tried to onside kick it. It was a perfect kick but I got there slightly quicker. I tried to fall on it, but my brother wasn't going to have any of it. He didn't slow down and when I got up to try and get a few extra yards, our knees hit and mine got under his, causing him to hit the semi frozen tundra hard. He took the brunt of the collision. I went on to score, once again surviving total humiliation. I got to keep my pride and my brother got to keep a new bruise.