four reasons to give blood

A. Alexeieff, illus. for Russian Fairy Tales, 1945

i gave blood this week. it was fun! here are four reasons i like giving blood, ordered from most to least important [i have to give partial credit to kyle for a couple of these]:

1. it is uplifting to see so many people at the donation center who have taken like an hour out of their days to give something anonymously to people they don't know. it is kind of like the opposite of vitriolic comments on the internet.
2. you may (accurately) call yourself a reverse vampire.
3. there is a good chance you will get complimented on how fast your body can pump blood into a little bag, or on how easy it is to find your veins. i'd wager this is one of the only situations in which you can be particularly proud of the exceptional nature of your circulatory system.
4. the feeling of moral superiority over people who spend that hour just sitting at the computer reading crap on the internet. ha ha, yes, i mean you!

Here's a link to the Red Cross's website where you too can sign up to give blood.