Don't Mess With Your Guardian Angel

   Starting in the 8th grade, I knew, like most 8th grade boys, that I was immortal and invincible and invulnerable.  Unfortunately, what I knew decided to clash with reality one day.
   We were at football practice - we didn't have our practice uniforms yet, so we were doing drill in shorts and t-shirts.  I was the fastest kid in the 8th grade (for real - you might not believe it to look at me now, LOL), and the coach had us running pass routes.  Even though I was slated to be a running back, I loved being able to break out and catch passes.
   When my turn came up, it turns out that I was going to be covered by my friend Craig (who was over six feet tall) and his older brother Mark who was in high school and was even taller than Craig.  I was maybe 5' 8" at the time, so it was gonna be tricky to catch the ball between two "trees."  But I was up to the challenge because I was cocky and fast.
   I ran out and got between Craig and Mark, figuring the ball would be thrown when I broke past them.
   Wrong!
   I looked up and saw that the pass was coming down right in the middle of us, and being the shortest, it didn't look too promising.  But I leaped up and somehow managed to snake my arms between the brothers and get one hand on the ball.  I pulled it down and grabbed it with the other hand. 
   Yes!  I caught the ball and I was not about to let go!
   And then we were all tangled up.
   And we fell.
   Somehow I ended on the bottom of the pile, but I held onto the ball, although the dirt under my left wrist was really hot! 
   Uh oh!  I remembered the last time something like that burned.  It couldn't be happening again.  No way!
   We got up, and my wrist was swelling.  Just like in the 2nd grade, the coach got a hold of my parents, who took me to the hospital where I got x-rays and a cast.  At least this time it was only one arm.
   I'm one of those people who believe we have guardian angels watching over us.  And I sometimes get a little too adventurous and need some help from my guardian angel.  And I think this was one time when maybe, just maybe, I had gotten a little too full of myself and because I was too stubborn to drop the ball, my angel decided to drop me.