There is a place where hopes and dreams intersect reality. Most of the time it’s a bittersweet place. There was a time when I dreamed of playing quarterback for the New York Jets. The reality was I was not blessed athletically to even play third string for our Riverwood Raiders.
So at a certain point in life we are wise to look at the hand we have been dealt and divine how to maximize it. I have something going for me that I’m guessing few NFL signal callers can claim — my blood type is O-negative.
Anyone can be given my blood. Indeed, only 7 percent of the population shares my blood type, which makes me a rock star when it comes to donating blood. The woebegone aspect is that when I’m most in demand it means times are hard somewhere.
To wit: A hurricane rips through a heavily populated area and my phone rings. In the summer, when people are traveling, blood supplies are likewise taxed. The blood collection agencies never ring me just to say hello.
Not surprisingly, charitable monetary donations have been decreasing the past few years. Most of us want to help but find it harder to do when gas marches toward $4 per gallon, which drives up other prices. The result is we have less to spare for those in need.
And that brings us back to donating blood. No matter how much a gallon of gas, milk or orange juice costs, I still have the same amount of my rock star O-negative blood. My investment is a couple of hours every few weeks, depending on whether I’m giving whole blood or platelets.
If more would do likewise, this world would get better by the pint. I can hear the naysayers warming up with their subterfuges for not giving, and I already have answers ready.
Excuse: I can’t stand the sight of blood. Answer: Don’t look.
Excuse: I hate needles. Answer: If you were in an accident, found yourself in an ambulance and they were trying to start an IV to replace the blood you’d lost, would you look at the emergency medical technician and say, “I hate needles”?
Excuse: I don’t have time. Answer: I see too many people wandering around malls and too many trashy TV shows scoring big ratings for this to hold water. Show me your schedule and I promise I’ll find a few hours every four to six weeks.
Excuse: For medical reasons I’m unable to donate. Answer: If you know this for a fact it means you’ve at least thought about it, and for that you get a gold star.
So what if I never play for the Jets. So what if I never throw the game-winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. I’ll never get a free trip to Disney World.
However, every now and then I give a leukemia patient in need of platelets or white blood cells one more exquisite day. And my reality is that’s beyond anything I could have hoped or dreamed.
Jim Osterman lives in Sandy Springs. Reach him at jimosterman@rocketmail.com
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