Weather or Not, There is Blood

Yesterday, I donated blood. This is not an unusual occurrence for me - over the years (and between the Blood Center of Wisconsin and the American Red Cross) I have donated over three gallons of blood, and do not plan on stopping anytime soon. However, in a way it was an unusual occurrence, now that I consider the exact circumstances of the drive itself.

Normally, I am contacted several days (or even weeks) in advance, to let me know that there is going to be a blood drive soon, and to check if I can make it (the BCW really likes me because I'm a repeat donor). This time around, I was contacted (phone call, e-mail) the day before the drive was set to take place. Also, when the drive normally comes, it will have been set up within a church (I'm not entirely sure why this is, nor have I cared enough to give it much thought; I imagine some arrangement(s) have been set up). This drive was happening on a bus that (by the looks of the inside) was designed for mobile blood drives.

However, most of my perception of this as unusual stems from the fact that I have not faced such a happening before. The circumstances surrounding the drive lend it much-needed perspective. Earlier this last week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), a rather severe winter storm hit much of the Midwestern United States. Apparently, some blood drives had to be cancelled outright, while others saw a significant lack of donors. The Saturday drive was called on short notice, yes, because they were trying to compensate for the other drives! The bus was a simple way to speedily transport people and equipment somewhere. When they get there, park it in a parking lot, and the drive is on!

All of this makes me reflect upon the world we live in. Specifically, upon a rather significant aspect of it: the weather. We observe the weather, predict it, study it, plan around it. But we have very little actual control over the weather. (Which is probably for the best. A madman with a weather-control machine holding the world hostage? That sounds like the set-up for a 1950's science fiction B-movie. Now that I think about it, it probably is.) We can manipulate the weather, certainly. (It should be noted at this time that under the Environmental Modification Convention, altering the weather for warfare purposes has been banned by the United Nations.) Cloud seeding is used around the world. Various methods of lessening or even stopping storms have been devised over the years, though most have proven ineffectual or impractical, or are merely hypothetical.

We rely on the weather to help bring life and prosperity. But it can just as easily bring death and destruction - they're called natural disasters, and the name is often well-deserved. But, in spite of this, we rise back up, time and time again. We recover what we can, clear away the wreckage, bury our dead, tend to our injured, and rebuild once more.