Item The First: On Friday I tried to donate platelets at the local Red Cross Donation Center. To say the least, it didn’t go well. On Wednesday and Thursday I got e-mails and reminder calls, all of which instructed me to make sure I was well hydrated, drink extra, and so on. OK, no problem. Then when I get there they put in the needles (one in each arm) and tell me to sit tight for two hours. This raises some concerns. THEN they add this anti-coagulant to the return stream so that I can make it through the whole procedure. (This is normal operating procedure.) The problem is that this anti-coagulant is also an excellent diuretic. Lots of fluids + lots of diuretic = I’m not sitting anywhere for two hours without a catheter or adult diapers, neither of which was provided. Epic fail.
Item The Second: Make note of the name Nick Sloane. Mr. Sloane is the salvage master who lead the team of over five hundred experts to lift the Costa Concordia off of the rocks and slowly flip it back upright off the coast of Giglio, Italy. (Stories here and here, with a great time-lapse video here.)
Item The Third: I really liked the story I wrote this week for the Flash Fiction Challenge. I was on the fourth edit and getting really, really close to being done with it Thursday night when I realized that it was already 11:55 PM. I posted the story quickly with no further edits. Thinking about it more on Friday, I think the one thing that I would change is the last line. Instead of “That’s when I saw it.”, I would have it be, “That’s when I saw it – now I was in trouble.” More cliffery and hangery.
Item The Fourth: When I left for that appointment at the Red Cross on Friday morning, I was about two blocks from home when I realized that I had not double checked the gate to the back yard after the gardeners were there on Thursday afternoon. I did a quick trip around the block and got back just in time to see Jessie pushing the gate open, seeing me pulling up, and trying to go to full reverse to get back inside the gate before it closed behind her. She’s had another taste of freedom, and the road calls to her.
Item The Fifth: Three weeks into the NFL season, no one is particularly surprised to see the Patriots, Broncos, Saints, or Seahawks undefeated at 3-0. And no one’s too surprised to see the Jaguars at 0-3. BUT…
I’d like a show of hands of those who thought that in addition to those teams, the Bears, Dolphins, and my beloved KC Chiefs would be undefeated, and the Steelers, Redskins, Vikings, and Giants would all be winless at 0-3. In addition, the Chiefs are four point favorites for tomorrow morning’s game against the New York Giants. I like this. I could get used to this. Especially when by this time tomorrow we’ll be 4-0.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 