This morning I got up early and decided to give blood, in spite of the fact that the Red Cross person who called me several days ago told me there were no appointments available at the Donor Center. A trip to the Donor Center is really a great start to a nice day.
I arrived at the Donor Center and the volunteer asked me to read the Stop sign behind her. I said, “Stop” and she looked at me. So I read the rest of the sign and decided I was qualified and willing to proceed. She handed me a sheaf of information and sent me to read it in the blue chairs. I read the information as carefully as I read it last month. It’s pretty simple, I don’t have any high risk habits and I don’t take any prescription medication.
You’re wondering about the Egg McMuffin, aren’t you?
I passed the iron test, the blood pressure assessment, the temperature investigation and the pulse count exam. Now I was willing, able and healthy enough to give blood, which I did.
After donating, I went to the little corral where you must sit and eat and drink until you think you can totter out safely. First I had a nice cup of decaf coffee, just as I like it. It was hot and brown, and tasted okay. I’m not fussy about coffee. I ate a bag of micro cookies - you know the type, they’re about one inch in diameter, but there was plenty of chocolate coating. A second cup of coffee seemed like a good idea, so I tried the high-octane coffee with caffeine. Clearly someone had emptied the mop water from the floor into the coffee pot. It was awful. So I dumped it in the sink and left.
I’m getting to McDonald’s, really.
I drove to Fabric Fix, which is a great fabric store in what used to be a gas station or garage. They weren’t going to be open for another half hour, so I decided to go get an Egg McMuffin, since the micro cookies had failed to expand as anticipated when soaked in coffee.
At McDonald’s, I read the board listing the prices for food. For $3.29, I could get one Egg McMuffin, but for $3.33, I could get two. Sadly, I had $2.87. Not one to be discouraged, I decided to try to finance my Egg McMuffin by selling the second one to the lady behind me for $1. This seemed like a great deal - she would get an Egg McMuffin for a dollar and I would get an Egg McMuffin, too.
Obviously no one has ever offered her such an opportunity. She looked at me like I was nuts. You may think I am.
So I paid $3.29 plus tax for the Egg McMuffin using a credit card and also got a free cup of water (drink lots of fluids after donating blood), sat down at the table and continued reading The Salmon of Doubt which is a great book. By then, it was time to go back to Fabric Fix. I bought two yards of purple PolarTec (whatever Malden Mills calls whatever it is I bought).