Giving Blood

It is one of those simple things that goes unrewarded, but does some good in the world. Right? The prospect of supplying blood to a person who would otherwise die has to warm you heart a bit. I have however heard stories of blood being unused and going to waste. For the time being I have set those thoughts aside.

Last week I signed up to give blood. Today is the big day. I have not given blood since I was in High School. The last time I gave blood was only the second time ever. It was a bit traumatic.

I believe it was well into the swimming season and I was conditioning for several hours each day. In the previous month I had been dropping weight and it seemed I could consume endless quantities of food to no avail. That was likely why I passed out on that cool November morning.

When I awoke I did not know where I was. It was frightening and a bit embarrassing. It was this experience along with the large needles and stale smell of the nurses and equipment that had driven me away.

But now I am here again 5 years later. It seems noble, and I just starting to feel queasy a bit. I doubt I will pass out, but that thought lingers in my mind. Only forty five minutes until I let someone press what ought to be called a sharp tube, due to its diameter, into my arm and suck a bit of the life force out of me. Okay, maybe a bit dramatic, but I am uneasy to say least.