Rejected

I recently went in to donate blood.

I went in early on a Saturday right when they opened. This was so that I would be able to donate early and then make it to a gun show before the crowds hit.

Things went pretty normal. Signed in. Hung the number outside the screening room, Closed the door. Read the instructions. Answered the questions. Opened the door. Reviewed the questions with the reviewer: Yes, I served in the military (not in Europe). Yes, I have been to Africa (Somalia, 1982), Yes, I have been out of the country in the last three years (Mexico, March 2007).

Then I got to the physical check. Arms OK, (no needle tracks). Temperature 97.8 (must be my cold, cold heart). And then the new automated blood pressure/heart rate machine with instructions not to move or talk during the test. Blood pressure a nice 118/70. Pulse 44.

Minimum to donate is 50. Except if you are a runner. Then it is 46.

The screener went out the door to talk with the supervisor.

So two more tests with instructions to “stress out”. Blood pressure rose each time. Pulse the second time: 44. Pulse the third time: 43.

Rejected.

I understand the reason. They are worried about slow donations and people fainting. But I have never had any problems with that.

And I don’t blame the screeners and people at the local office who were only following the ironclad criteria laid down by the Main Center of the Community Blood Services. Because I know from previous conversations that they get hammered by the people in quality control if they mess up in any way on the paperwork.

And I can go back and try to donate the next day, although it will be at least a week.

So now I have a letter to write to the Main Center. And I have to point out that if comes down to a choice between my health and donating blood, it will be my health. For it is my health that allows me to donate blood in the first place (I don't want to give the impression that I am bragging for I realize that I have been blessed by good genes).

This is not really a big deal. I have been more amused by this than anything else. The fact that I am “too healthy” to donate is a weird idea.

But it has made me think: How many times have I rejected someone because of my ironclad criteria without regard for the circumstances of the individual?

Small Circles

We tend to run in small circles.

I don't mean that we go out and physically run in small circles. That is boring. But when you think about it our sphere of contact ends up being pretty small.

It was kind of driven home when I was looking at a website recently that has had some impact both on us and for people around the world. The author has written some very popular books. They recently published some statistics on the readership of the website.

They average around 40,000 unique viewers a day. From around the world. So that is out of billions of people. In the grand scheme of things it is a small part of the population.

We may have lots of contact with people in the course of performing our jobs, or at church or at school. But ultimately we have a pretty small circle that we are involved in.

And that is OK.

You see I have to deal with whoever is in front of me right now. That is my responsibility. Not to change the world.

To develop relationships with those around me.

And if I can have impact with the small circle that I run in, I can be content with that...

Easter Greetings

I sent this e-mail out to all those on our LL Songs mailing list and it is for you also:

Loralie and I wanted to wish you a blessed Easter this weekend.

Spring is a time of numerous new beginnings and fresh starts and nothing represents new beginnings like Easter weekend. Change is celebrated throughout the weekend. From Maunday Thursday (where the Last Supper is celebrated) to Good Friday (where Christ's death on the cross for our sins is observed) to Easter Sunday (where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead) new beginnings are observed.

And this is an Easter of new beginnings for Loralie and myself. For the first time in around ten years Loralie won't be singing at the sunrise service on Easter morning. Our church eliminated the service this year. And with our daughter Ellen joining a new church and working strange shifts, we have decided to attend her church with her this Sunday. We will also be able to gather with Loralie's sisters on Sunday afternoon since they have both moved to Overland Park in the past year.

So this year, whether you are celebrating old traditions or creating new ones, we hope that you will keep in mind the true reason for this Easter season and have a safe, restful and peaceful weekend.

Thanks:

Eric & Loralie Tangen

Common Ground

It's a phrase I've heard often: Find common ground.

I was reminded of that late this afternoon. My wife and I were at the Home Remodeling/Lawn and Garden/Green Show at Kemper Arena. Big Place with lots of exhibits and walking.

Late in the day when we were both dead tired, Loralie saw a friend that she knew from several years ago. She and her husband were manning a booth at the show for her interior design business.

Loralie introduced me to her friend and her friend introduced me to her husband and soon the tow ladies were in conversation. At this point I had two options.

Option one was to stand there and feel my navel accumulate lint at a slow rate.

Option two was to engage the husband in conversation in an attempt to find some common ground between the two of us.

This starts by asking questions and listening. Its easy to start with the standard guy question: "What do you do for a living?" and then listening to the answers. This gentleman mentioned that he had worked in California. Since my wife grew up in California, this led to other avenues of conversation.

I was even able to find out that he had served in the Navy (who's sole purpose is to support the Marine Corps and carry them to the beach).

I am convinced that we can find common ground with just about anyone. This could be experiences, jobs, places lived, religions, sports, activities, kids, vacation activities, books read, movies seen, etc, etc, etc...

It takes being interested in the other person and really listening to their answers. I'll be honest, at times I don't feel like talking much. But I need to engage others around me. I am called to deal with whoever is in front of me at any given time.

And I need to remember that always. Even at the Home Remodeling/Lawn and Garden/Green Show.