My last article referenced the fact that we are leading busier lives than our parents did. We all have utility belts loaded with gadgets. We’re all geeks, or wannabe geeks. And now that the earth has become smaller, we find ourselves traveling to other countries often, and seeing and working with people from other countries. Political correctness is not just an empty phrase, we literally have to live by it to survive and be successful, lest we be known as cavemen.

In fact, that reminds me of a great story, since this week marks the 14th anniversary of my father’s succesful heart bypass surgery. I remember joining my father for his initial appointment with his heart surgeon. My dad is a tough guy, but he was scared. When we met Dr. Saad, he was very professional and we could tell by his demeaner that he was talented and good. We had a nice conversation where he discussed the surgery and finally he wanted to know if we had any questions. My dad is a Jewish man, and this was a major surgery, and he asked, "Dr., are you an Arab?" The Dr. smiled broadly and answered, "Yes." We all laughed and that broke the tension. Needless to say, everything went well.

So a couple months ago my Synagogue asked me to donate blood for their blood drive. Man, I’m busy. "But it only takes a few minutes and it’s a mitzvah, a good deed." Of course I’ll do it. I get to the Synagogue and there’s a big bus out there, I knock on the door and they tell me to register inside. I go inside, tell them I’m here, and expect to pull my sleave up. Come on, I’m busy, I have a cell phone, a pda, a laptop and all that stuff. Somebody might call me or something. So they tell me to have a chill and fill out a form. The first one asks if I want to donate $20 to a cause, for which I’ll get roses for Thanksgiving. Ok, fine. Then I have to read a short pamphlet about giving blood. I’m like, hey, I’m doing them a favor and they’re taking all my frikin’ time. What’s up with that? So I read this pamphlet, then I start answering all these questions that were very personal. Have I been in and or lived in the UK? Have I paid for sex? Have I had a tattoo or piercing?

This was a serious questionaire! They weren’t screwing around. I started thinking about what kind of blood I would want if I were in trauma. Perhaps these questions weren’t so bad after all. Now, the funny thing is, I had just gotten my ear pierced. My middle daughter was scared to do it, so daddy showed her how easy it is, then she did it. I’ve since taken it out, but it was kinda fun to have an earing for a couple months. The nurse wanted to make sure I got it done professionally. She took my pulse and blood pressure. Everything checked out. Finally I was ready to donate. The donation took less than 10 minutes. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. Now Lifesource calls me every 8 weeks to donate. And I do. I’m not that busy anymore. That’s just my opinion.

[tags]lifesource, pda, Jamm, geek[/tags]