Grand Slam

Living in a small town sometimes necessitates going to a larger city for products and services needed. In my case, the larger town is Duluth, Minnesota, about 60 miles south of Silver Bay; usually 140 miles round trip. With high fuel prices and the cost of operating a car these days, it's important to make trips to the city count.
On many of my recent trips to Duluth, I have failed to accomplish all the tasks I had planned. A few trips have been futile; some were my fault, and others were for reasons beyond my control. I was ready and due for a Duluth trip to go as planned and accomplish every task on my list for the day. In baseball terms, I was due for a grand slam!
Just the other day, I had to travel to Iowa. My daughter Sydney called to ask if I could pick up Evelyn after school and stay with her until she got home from work. "Sure," I said. "I can do that."
Getting Evelyn from school would mean leaving my house a little early and on time! Early is not my specialty, and I still had to pack for my trip to Iowa. For once in my life, I did not procrastinate; I loaded the van with a couple of hours to spare. "If I leave now, maybe I could donate blood today," I said. I also needed a haircut and an oil change, but there wouldn't be enough time for all of that.
I pulled out of the driveway and called Memorial Blood Center – unfortunately, they had no open appointments. I was still very early and decided I could get a haircut and an oil change for the van; both were desperately needed.
The Valvoline oil change shop is usually fast, but still, a bit pricey. I had a $25 off coupon, making them about the same price as the regular tire shop where I usually go. Pulling into the Valvoline Center, I saw only one car ahead of me. Awesome! I was in and out with plenty of time to get Ev from school.
After getting Ev, we had over two hours to spend before Sydney got home from work. "Instead of going straight home, I'm going to drive by the blood center to see if I can get a walk-in appointment," I told my granddaughter.
"What does that mean," Evelyn asked. "What do they do?" I thought momentarily, how do I explain this to a seven-year-old without being too graphic and scaring her.
"Well, they poke my finger to get just a drop of blood to test and make sure I'm healthy." I explained. "And then, as long as I am healthy enough, they take one unit, just a small plastic bag of blood."
"Why do they want your blood," Ev quizzed.
"If someone is sick or has an accident and needs blood, a doctor will give them my blood so they can heal and get better. It's a really good way for me to help other people, and it's easy."
Evelyn was very curious about this, "But how do they get your blood, Papa?"
I simplified my answer, "They put a small needle into my arm. It has a tube that goes into the bag. When the little bag is full, they take the needle out, and give me a pretty bandage on my arm, and I'm done. It’s that easy."
"Does it hurt," Ev wanted to know.
"Not at all," I said. "You can come in and watch if you want."
Evelyn wrinkled her nose, "No thanks, Papa. I'll just wait in the car."
I replied. "It takes too long to wait in the car, but they have a nice lobby with chairs and couches. They have tables, too, if you have homework."
While we drove to the blood center, Evelyn shouted, "Banana, banana!" Then she explained, "Whenever you see a yellow car, you're supposed to say 'banana, banana,' Papa." We shared a good laugh about that; I learn new things from this kid whenever I see her. (I honestly did not see a yellow car, but it wouldn't be the first time Evelyn spoofed me!)
Ev waited in the car while I ran into the building to see if they could take a walk-in donor. "Absolutely," the lady said.
I brought Evelyn inside to the waiting area. "Do you want to bring your backpack," I asked. "I'll be about forty-five minutes to an hour," Ev assured me she would be fine without it. I showed her the refreshment table. "You can grab a snack and something to drink while you're waiting." Ev was excited about that.
After my short interview, I went to the lobby to check on Ev; she was fine but hadn't gathered any snacks yet. "I'm okay," she said.
While in the chair donating, I checked to see how long the wait was for a haircut at Great Clips. "Ninety-five minutes?" By then, I would be done donating blood and be at my daughter's house, and Sydney would be home from work. So, I signed in online for a haircut after donating blood.
I'm sure donating blood goes much faster for the donor than one waiting in the lobby. When the blood draw was complete, the phlebotomist asked, "What color bandage would you like today, Mr. Palen?"
"It doesn't matter," I replied. "Whatever you have is fine." Usually, I chose a bright, loud color so people would know I gave blood, hopefully encouraging them to do the same. The phlebotomist wrapped my arm with bright yellow tape, and I smiled.
I walked out to the lobby where Evelyn was waiting. Pointing to my yellow bandage, I said, "Banana, banana!" Evelyn and I shared a good laugh about that. I turned to the receptionist, "Did she clean you out of snacks," I jested.
"Nope, she just had a bag of chips and a Gatorade," the lady said. I told Ev she could have another snack if she wanted one. She opted for a small package with two Oreo cookies. I suggested that Evelyn grab one more package of Oreos for Addison, who would also be home from school soon.
In the car, Evelyn ate her Oreos. "Did you save the other package for Addie," I asked.
Ev blushed. "I saved one Oreo for Addie." I laughed and told Ev to go ahead and eat the last Oreo; we'd get Addie a different snack after school. (Carb queen!)
Back at the house, Addie got home, and soon after, Sydney arrived; she was earlier than anticipated, so I headed out for my haircut. Just as I got into the van, I received a text from Great Clips: "Come on in; we're almost ready for you." Perfect, they were also ahead of schedule.
With a fresh haircut and clean oil, I headed south on I-35 for Iowa. I wasn't in any hurry, so I set the cruise at 70 mph and reflected on the day. Everything went smoothly, and I felt really good about donating blood – I always do.
I did an inventory of what I set out to do in Duluth and compared it to what was accomplished: "Get Evelyn from school; check. Donate blood; check. Get the van's oil changed; check. Get a desperately needed haircut; check." I was pleased, "Hey, I got everything on the list done! Four items on the list – four tasks accomplished. I haven't been able to get everything on the Duluth list done lately.
Then I smiled even bigger. "One trip to Duluth, with one job, to get Ev from school. But the bases were loaded with three more things to do. I swung hard and put it right out of the park; four points were scored. BAM! That's the grand slam I've been waiting for in Duluth!"
It was a great drive to Iowa and I had a tailwind all the way.