Give blood? Next time I'll bring lunch

Gave blood Monday at lunch hour.

Probably took 15 minutes. 20 minutes tops.

But that was after 30 minutes answering questions. Or longer.

It felt like an eternity.

Same questions I answered last time I donated blood 14 months ago.

They were the usual "lifestyle" questions that need to be asked.

The kind that draw a string of no's. And no's. And more no's.

As in, no, I don't do drugs.

The questions get more personal after that, if you get my drift.

Anyway, the real hangup came when I was asked if I'd been out of the country in the last three years.

Yes, I said.

Ireland last August.

St. Thomas and St. Maarten last April.

Out came this three-ring binder as thick as the Manhattan phone directory.

Whoa!

The woman searched page after page after page.

This must've taken 10 minutes alone.

She went outside to get another binder.

I figured I might be back to work by 3 p.m.

At last, the woman indicated the Caribbean islands were no problem.

But no matter how she searched, she couldn't find Ireland.

Finally, she gave up and signed me out to give blood.

Thank you, God!



























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