In the middle of the pandemic:Donate and chat
The longer the lockdown, the greater the longing for flesh and blood people. What helps? Donate blood
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Gloss by Patrizia Steipe
The longer the lockdown lasts, the greater the longing for contacts outside of one’s own household, for real flesh and blood people and not their representation on the video conference screens. The call for the next blood donation date in the community is therefore more than convenient. You have to be quick to get one of the coveted appointments for online reservations. Because these are given in no time. It almost feels as if you wanted to get hold of a ticket for a top-class pop concert or an opera premiere.
A long line has already formed in front of the hall where the Bavarian Red Cross takes the blood donations. What would have led to displeasure a few months ago is now in joyful anticipation. Now the only thing left to do is to succeed in identifying familiar faces with a distance and mask. In fact: a few meters in front of you is a mother who you still know from the parents’ council in kindergarten, next to you you can see a neighbor from the apartment block. And the daughter of a former work colleague is also waiting for her work. Small talk, which is actually always despised – it’s amazing how much you have missed it and how much fun it is. Strangers join in the conversation. “How do the children master their homeschooling?” “When was the last vacation?”, “Where can you get the best take-away food?”, “How do you get by with the conference tools?”, “How is your health?” and so on. The mood rises. It comes in handy that the various stations that precede blood donation, such as filling out questionnaires, talking to a doctor, measuring temperature and blood pressure, can only be passed slowly. Many of the beds have been occupied by donors longer than usual. A nurse reveals the reason. Blood donation has become a popular event in the dreary Corona period. This is why there are many more first-time donors than usual in the pandemic. Among them are some who have had circulatory problems because of the excitement about eating or drinking too little or not being able to see blood. So that they don’t tip over, they still have to relax on the loungers, which messed up the schedule a little. That is fine with those waiting. It’s just so nice at ratcheting. By the way: back there on the lounger, isn’t that the coach from the sports club?
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