A Temporary Reconciliation

In the great adventure stories there is an anomaly, a contradiction to everything you know. It pulls at the very foundations of your faith in the hero, leaving you to question, to doubt. It is a brief, but temporary reconciliation between the protagonist and the antagonist in order to fight a greater evil. Today I achieved this brief monumental status, but the events leading up to it were most unexpected.

I began the day a bit tired, having achieved full catharsis from taking in the spectacular depiction of Nelson Mandela and his quest for unity. I arrived at work in time for a meeting, and at 11:00 AM, I headed across the parking lot for my regular blood-letting. I proudly offered them the garden-hose vein on my left arm, and they graciously accepted.

I gushed with the blood-letters about how much I love giving blood, and then gushed literally. It went something like this:

A: I LOVE giving blood. It's so easy with a tap vein that just begs to be bled.

BloodLetter1: That's kind of creepy. Oops! Looks like we've gotta leak here.

A: See what I told you? BEGGING to be bled. Say, have you seen Land of the Lost? I am not recommending it, because, well, it has Will Ferrell in it, but did you see the scene with the mosquito?

BloodLetter2: No, what scene. Mosquito?

BloodLetter1: (chuckle) Well, see, there's this mosquito, and it's THIS BIG, and it gets him in the jugular, see? And it starts to fill up, and...

Coworker who is afraid of needles: (groan)

Nurse: Stop talking about that! He has an issue with needles!

Coworker:(to me) I'll get even with you later, A.

A: (laugh) Just keep thinking, 'I'm gonna win the laptop.' Just think laptop.

Coworker: Laptop. Right. Wait, we get to win a laptop?

True story! It was an unexpected bonus that they mentioned after you arrived for your appointment.

My blood-letting was complete in a respectable eight minutes, and after a little juice and snack, I hurried back to my desk.  I was a little light headed, so I delayed driving to pick up some lunch until I felt better. 12:00...1:00...2:00...2:45... I decided to remove my colorful blood-letting armbands, and the moment I moved my elbow, well, let's just say that I didn't stick around to clean the blood off of my desk. I pressed the bandage on my arm and booked it back across the parking lot to the bandwagon before they left. They remembered me from earlier, yea verily, by name, and hastily re-wrapped my arm.

A: I think I am feeling a little light headed.

BloodLetter: Do you want to lie down?

A: No, maybe I just need a little water...

BloodLetter: Did you drink plenty of water and eat today?

A: Oh, yes, I drank plenty of water....Ummm, hmmm. Ohhhhh. I guess I did forget to eat...

Bloodletter: That would certainly do it...

A: I think I am going to pass out. Yes, I am definitely going to pass out. Here I go! 

Suddenly I was someplace different. I think it was nighttime, and I was talking to someone, but someone else kept interrupting by calling my name from the shadows. When I opened my eyes, I looked up to see this:

Only, who WERE these people, and how did they know my name?


They kept telling me to keep my eyes open, but they were so heavy. I felt just like Will Ferrell after his giant mosquito bite. At last I remembered where I was, and why that young strapping fella was lifting both of my feet up off of the bench. They moved me onto one of the tables, where I stared at this for an inordinate amount of time:

Not very interesting, really. I watched the clock flip for twenty, thirty minutes, hoping my head would finally clear. At last I bid my band of caretakers farewell.

 I finally mustered up the courage to walk VERY SLOWLY back across the parking lot to the door, and took a rest just inside. I took the elevator up ONE FLOOR, and triumphantly sat at my desk, still feeling rather sick. Oddly, the blood droplets had curled up into dried flakes and there was very little cleanup.

I tried to make it home before I got even sicker, but started to feel light headed about half-way home. I pulled off in the closest parking lot, which just HAPPENED to be Pizza Factory.

 I knew I had to get some food in me, but I also didn't want to pass out in a restaurant. Lo and beholden: in my phone was the phone number for the restaurant! I looked in my console and found a dollar and change. It was desperate times. I knew that only the Nemesis could help me now. I would have to do the very thing that was most contradictory, that tears at the very fiber of integrity, of humanity.

The Nemesis and I have had a long relationship. We normally regard one another with politeness, and on special occasions we share a brief conversation in order to avoid offending a tender host who has ignorantly invited us both to dinner. In less intimate circumstances, however, we rarely even exchange glances. The Nemesis has employed evil belly and thigh plumping properties which are intended to be the demise of my fitness goals, and yet the lightening fast sugar conversion was the very thing I needed in that moment.

"RELEASE THE NEMESIS!" The words tumbled from my lips in desperation, and moments later, IT appeared at my car door window. Alas, it was time to join forces for the greater good.

It was a strange, but sweet reunion, like Magneto and Xavier, once dear friends, then enemies, joined momentarily, only to part ways again once the joint victory has been achieved.

Bleeding and Voting, Inside and Out

What's my Holiday?
My brother was born on a holiday, and my sister was born on a holiday. One day, when this realization hit me, I asked my mother, "What day was I born on?" She wisely told me that I was born on election day, which was true - roughly 1 out of every seven years. I guess I feel some obligation to encourage voting, not just because it occasionally falls on my birthday, but rather because of my deep patriotic feelings that have been around for many, many years.

Yesterday was election day. I voted for who I best felt would manage the interests of the city. Sometimes those decisions are difficult, because you know that there are many, many good men and women who would do a good job. The individuals for whom I voted won.

No Time to . . .
On a final note about election day, it is never about a single day, nor is it about two days, although without voting in the primaries, you don't get to decide who you will vote for later. It is an investment in your future, which if taken seriously, will truly make a difference. Less than half of our city came out to vote. It is very frustrating to me to see the news full of silly, stupid stories, when so many more significant things are happening in the world, and it frustrates me to think that voters can't take an hour or less out of their day to choose their government officials, yet they will sit around for hours and watch TV or search the Internet.

God loves everyone (but the whiners . . .)
I have seen non-voters complain for hours about the government, and I have seen non-voters foolishly try to excuse away their lack of involvement for some "logical" reason or another. While I am sure there are those who have valid excuses, I say, shame on you if you don't vote. Shame on you for throwing away the very freedom for which so many people died and for which so many continue to die. You can vote early, you can plan ahead, and if you are out of the country, you can get an absentee ballot, but nobody can vote for you. Skreeetch! Ballotbox, er, soapbox #1 aside.

Blood is OH SO GOOD!
Today I gave blood. I love giving blood. Not in a masochistic-strange way, but in the way that you feel you are momentarily giving up a bit of your own strength and health to give to someone else who is weakened and unhealthy. Aside from giving away organs, it is a great gift at a minimal cost to the giver. The Red Cross director was there, and came over to chat with me. He thanked me for giving blood and told me that the people who gave blood weren't just ordinary people, they were extraordinary. I smiled, and he said, "It's true! Not just anyone gives blood," and he went on to explain how he missed interacting with these extraordinary people as a phlebotomist. Well, if nothing else, it makes you feel really good giving a drop of life to another human being. (I found a photo that depicts this thought after I wrote this, but it is copyrighted, click to see!)

Free Food and Compliments
After giving blood I attended a special Recognition Banquet. I love hearing all of the marvelous things said about those being recognized. I thought about how lucky our Division director was to be able to read all of those wonderful things about everyone, and he was very sincere and kind. It meant so much to me when he said really kind things to those I know REALLY needed to hear it!!! When you recognize others, they feel good, but you also feel great!

A Tulip that could lift a Ton
When I was in college, and having a really sad day, I took the bus downtown, bought a single tulip wrapped in bright paper, and visited a woman in a rest home not far away. Every time I arrived, she greeted me with open arms, told me I was the daughter she never had, and talked to me about her children whom she missed dearly. Every time I left, she forgot me, but she had a fresh, bright tulip to remind her that someone had visited her recently, and that someone loved her. More than that, however, every time I left, I no longer felt sad. Somehow that sadness melted away during that hour, and I walked away with my chin held up. Maybe that sounds a bit selfish on my part, but blame it on my grandmother, who often took me to visit that well-seasoned, and well-worn ilk of my own species. I suppose you could say that's where I got the idea in the first place.