NAVIGATING THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

This month I think we were all reminded of 9/11. I remember it well. My roommate was from New York and an early riser (much to my normal annoyance) and so she was awoken (and woke me up) to see the second tower seem to expode on live TV as everyone was scrambling to understand what happened to the first tower. It was numbing and weird. All of my friends got together that night and scrambled around to give blood. I don't think we found a place that wasn't packed that night, for all our good intentions... but by the following week we had all given blood as our patriotic duty. And for me it really was a sacrifice because: I hate needles!

Oddly, though, I found out I cannot give blood again for a few years. I have been in Southeast Asia this summer (as many of you know) and played with kids who have AIDS... and so I can't give blood. So I apologize in advance if you were asking me to give blood, because I just can't do it. I can't give blood. They wouldn't want my contaminated blood. Weird thought, huh? Am I contaminated or have we just become really, really cautious? I don't know. But if it means I don't have to have a needle stuck in my arm, it is all right by me!