The Red Ribbon Ride

Last Sunday (August 13, 2006) I helped provide radio communications for the Mass Red Ribbon Ride, sponsored by the AIDS Action Comittee in Boston. There are other Red Ribbon Rides around the country, too. It was a pleasure helping out, despite the bit of sunburn I got. (I thought “mobile” meant I’d be in my truck all day. Instead, I followed the Ride Director, Andi, from Petersham to Hubbardston to Princeton to Bolton to Sudbury to Weston, stopping at each place for about an hour or so.) It was an outstandingly beautiful day for the event. I’d estimate that 100 riders took part in the event, which spanned two days and followed a 182 mile path from Pittsfield Massachusetts in to Weston. One thing that surprised me was that I’d never been on a lot of the roads, though I’ve lived within the area for over 20 years. The other thing that made an impression was that I would not want to ride my bicycle up some of those hills! Brutal.

Anyway, the people helping out, cheering, feeding, and caring for the riders did a wonderful job, and the cyclists! Wow! They did all the hard work and made my job look easy.

Donating Blood

Last night I donated blood to the American Red Cross. It took me a long time (50 years?!?) to get into the swing of things, but once I finally started, I’m going at it with gusto. Mom and Dad used to donate regularly, and Griz and Jackie were pheresis donors for a very long time. I wanted to donate ‘double red cells’ but apparently I’ve been donating too often, and that has to be deferred for another 8 weeks. But I donated whole blood. Type O-, too, which is the good stuff.

You should donate blood too, if you can. Be a mensch: Find a blood drive

The American Red Cross makes it pretty easy to donate. There’s the website where you can find a blood drive, and they email you and send postcards to remind you. They even send email and leave messages on your answering machine to remind you of an appointment to donate. And they set up appointments! How blasted convenient is that?!?

Thank you for your support.