The Rumors are True

There have been a number of times over my career as a Motor that I have been accused of having little or no compassion. Can you imagine such a thing? I've been called heartless, the Tin Man, and the Machine...and those are my co-workers! You know the old joke about someone having ice water in their veins? Well, I'm here to admit to it...

Last week, I donated blood. They gave me the choice between whole blood and just the red blood cells. It seems the latter can be used sooner and is more beneficial. Consequently, I went that route. The interesting thing about it is they use some fancy whizbang machine to process the blood, separate it into its components and then the plasma is pumped back into the donor...me, in this case.

The staff warned me that the returning plasma would feel cooler than I expected because by the time it was processed, it was at room temperature. Obviously, my innards are warmer than that. And, I tell you what, they weren't lying! When the process reversed itself and went from suck to blow (thank you, Spaceballs), it literally felt like ice water was being pumped into me!

I started to laugh and I got some strange looks. I felt like I was being prepped to return to work with fresh determination and that now I had a legit reason to be the heartless machination I have always been purported to be.

Oh...and when they offered an array of colors for the bandage? Yeah, I went with black. You know, just to complete the ensemble.

On a side note, I'd encourage all of you to donate blood. It's easy, painless, and they give you free juice and cookies. The life you save may be your partner's.