Rambling with Words

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Friday, March 26, 1999

The weather report said it would be in the low 80s, and maybe a little cloudy and just a chance of rain, so I wore shorts to work. When I left work at 11:00 AM it was already a little cool. I had a busy afternoon so I got falafel from a little restaurant by work and took the #1 bus downtown where I got the #8 heading east on Broadway.

My first stop was at the Red Cross to donate blood, as it had been a couple months. I was a walk-in but there was only one other person there so I got right in. They've changed how they do the check in. Instead of them reading you the questions, you read them and check the correct answer. My favorite is "To your knowledge, have you ever had sex since 1975, with anyone who has had sex with someone since 1975, who might have aids?" I'm not sure of the date but it is in the 70s. There is also the question that asks if you have had sex with anyone who has had sex with a prostitute.

I have lovely veins and they nurse always comments on it. It all went well, except at the end, I was bleeding a bit too much so they put ice on my arm for a few minutes and then it stopped. The cookies and juice are always nice. I have a type of blood that they like. Not the most rare, but one that they always seem to need. I'm never sure if I'm faint or just moving slow, as I always move very slow in case I might faint. Got that?

Next it was off to the bookstore. I took the bus a mile down to it. The great thing about Broadway is it's the only street in Tucson that has really decent bus service, about every 10 minutes during the week, during the day. On the weekend it goes down to 15-20, which is still better than most of the other bus routes during rush hour.

I just wandered through the bookstore and looked at new books. I like to see what I might want to read and then check to see if I can get it at the library. If it's a book that the library doesn't have, and probably won't have, and I really want to read it, I'll buy it, but at six to seven bucks for just a paperback, I would be broke in no time. I was also looking for a specific magazine that the library doesn't carry. The new issue wasn't in.

The next stop was the library. Again, this was just a browsing trip and I did find four books that I checked out and read a couple articles in magazines. They have PCs at the Wilmot Library also. That is so great that you can get on the internet at the library. The library here is also fighting to avoid censorship of the internet, which is great. I do not think that the government should be in the censorship business.

When I came out of the library it was sprinking. It smelled so good. I walked to my next stop, the dentist, which was just 5 minutes away and it was fairly heavy by the time I got there. I did have my umbrella, so I enjoyed the rain after so many months with nothing. It was starting to get a bit chilly though.

Finally, the dentist. Well, actually the hygienist, but I have been having appointments at 4 month intervals due to very bad gums because I never used to floss. After much pain and much money, even after what the dental insurance pays, I am now flossing. I love how much better my teeth look than they used to. I not only drink lots of coffee and, up to two years ago, smoked two to three packs of cigarettes a day so my teeth were always stained.

On top of that, I didn't go to the dentist for many years since I just couldn't afford it when I was raising my children since most people didn't get dental insurance back then. I regret that I couldn't get my kids orthodontic work but most of the time I was lucky to just buy food and pay the rent.

When I walked from the dentist office to the bus stop it was very chilly and I was glad I at least had a sweater to put on. As I walked by one office I had to almost walk in the street to avoid the sprinklers soaking my feet, as I walked in the rain. That always strikes me as a bit silly. Luckily the bus came within a few minutes so I didn't have to stand out in the cold too long.

Downtown I had to transfer to another bus and all the buses were coming in at once to Ronstadt Transit Center. No, it's not named after Linda but one of her uncles. They are a very active family in the business and political life of Tucson. I love to watch all the https://members.tripod.com/~rachela/tucson/9806ronstadt_ctr1.htmlcoming in together. I always think of elephants dancing as they wind their way around each other and the people wandering in front of them.

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©Rachel Aschmann 1999.
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