Suture Me This, Suture Me Miss?

One Busted Lip + Nine Sutures + Seven Days = Whole Lotta Healing

Photo by gibblesmash asdf on Unsplash

My stitches come out later today, and I can’t wait to say goodbye to the tiny threads that literally held my lip together since my accident last weekend. What a ride.

Honestly, the sutures weren’t terrible—but they definitely weren’t a spa day either. Eating and drinking with them have been tricky. And every time I look in the mirror, all I can think is Edward Scissorhands…with bigger busted lips.

Still, the sutures did exactly what they were supposed to do—hold everything in place while my body quietly got to work, doing its miraculous healing thing.

On the rare occasions I ventured out in public, I hid behind an oversized mask. My own personal invisibility cloak. Underneath it, I was healing, hiding, and honestly… processing.

My tumble didn’t just rearrange my face. It reminded me of a few forgotten truths and some buried perspectives.

There’s nothing quite like a visible injury to remind you just how fragile the human body really is. How everything—our plans, comfort, and confidence—can shift in an instant. One misstep, and suddenly we're not just dealing with pain, but with the sobering awareness that safety and stability are always a balancing act.

My tumble also reminded me of how resilient we can be. With the right care and a little patience, the body (mostly) heals itself. Even when you don’t think it’s possible.

This past week, I went from being someone who picked at scabs (don’t judge) to someone who now treats them with gentle care. The ones on my lip flaked off yesterday like little badges of courage and progress.

I don’t have any plans to kiss anyone anytime soon, but it’s nice knowing the option’s coming back eventually. Until then, my favorite pastime is on summer hiatus.

Later today, my sutures will be gone. And while I’m not quite back to “normal,” I am a whole lot closer. And I am grateful—for the ugly discomfort, the forced downtime, and the beautiful mess of it all.

Keep safe and just do it!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ICYMI = IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• MONDAY = On The Bright Side(s)...

• TUESDAY = Tim Gunn Makes It Work

• WEDNESDAY = Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This?)

• THURSDAY = The Pendulum Of Progress

• FRIDAY = I've Got (Too Much) Mail

• SATURDAY = James Baldwin @ 101

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FOR YOUR (SUBSTACK) CONSIDERATION

• The Second Coming...Out (Coach Ricky Vaughn)

• We Can Save Public Radio and Television (Charlotte Clymer)

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ON THIS DAY = AUGUST 3

BIRTHDAYS

• 1887 = Rupert Brooke = English poet 🌈

• 1900 = John T. Scopes = American educator

• 1902 = David Buttolph = American film composer

• 1904 = Dolores del Río = Mexican actor

• 1913 = Mel Tolkin = Ukrainian-American screenwriter and producer

• 1923 = Jean Hagen = American actor

• 1926 = Gordon Scott = American actor

• 1926 = Tony Bennett = American singer and actor

• 1930 = James Komack = American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1935 = John Erman = American actor, director, and producer

• 1940 = Martin Sheen = American actor and producer

• 1941 = Martha Stewart = American businesswoman, publisher, and author

• 1950 = Jo Marie Payton = American actor and singer

• 1950 = John Landis = American actor and filmmaker

• 1953 = Marlene Dumas = South African painter

• 1959 = John C. McGinley = American actor and producer

• 1963 = James Hetfield = American singer-songwriter

• 1963 = Lisa Ann Walter = American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1970 = Masahiro Sakurai = Japanese video game designer

• 1971 = DJ Spinderella = American DJ, rapper, producer, and actor

• 1973 = Jay Cutler = American bodybuilder

• 1973 = Michael Ealy = American actor

• 1979 = Evangeline Lilly = Canadian actor

• 1982 = Nyla Rose = American wrestler and actor 🌈

EVENTS

• 1492 = Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.

• 1778 = The theatre La Scala in Milan is inaugurated with the première of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.

• 1946 = Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana.

• 1973 = The first issue of Gay Tide is published by Gay Alliance Toward Equity (GATE) in Vancouver, Candy.

• 1977 = Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.

• 2011 = Rudolf Brazda dies in Les Molènes, France at the age of 98. He was the last known homosexual holocaust survivor, having spent nearly three years in Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was branded with the pink triangle Nazis used to mark gay men.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• American Family Day

• National Friendship Day

• National Grab Some Nuts Day

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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

RUPERT BROOKE BY SHERRIL SCHELL (1913)

“A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out all the years.”
Rupert Brooke

“Cities, like cats, will reveal themselves at night.”
Rupert Brooke