Sorry ladies, this one's for men only

I know, we talked about this last year.....
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Last year, a niece of mine sent out a call for everyone to wear purple on the 20th of October. It was a way for us to show our support for those who are being bullied. The idea was to show the youth that are being picked on for having sexual identity issues that there are those that care about them. Way too many of them are committing suicide. Think about when you were young, we were only allowed to have one sexual identity. It was decided at birth. Many young people committed suicide then as well, maybe it was the absolute denial and the extreme prejudice and oppression of the time. I joked at work one day about a young man who's distant ancestors must have really lost it when my distant ancestors ran into that cave with fire to show them for the first time.

I know about being picked on for being different. At the moment, I am perceived as being older, short, overweight, bald and I prefer to wear my whiskers longer than is socially acceptable. I have, of course, always been shorter than most people and have had the tendency to carry a few extra pounds. When I started losing my hair, in high school, I felt I was treated like someone with a communicable disease, like others were afraid they'd catch "IT".

With the getting older thing and after coming to terms with another reason for others to tease, I decided to try to jump a very large hurdle. There are members of my family, including myself that have had trouble with needles, trouble you won't understand. I've had doctors that got spooked when I "kissed" the floor. But I decided I would take the plunge and give blood. A little more background, there was once a family member that may have needed surgery. I was asked, just in case, if I would be willing to donate blood....I declined. A decision that I have and will always regret. Well, there I went, gathered up all my courage (?) and went in. Even though I tried to tell them how much it took for me to go it there, because of surgery I had less than one year previously, they kicked me to the curb. Not long after that they returned and once again I pulled it together and went in. When I came to I was packed like a fish in ice. I was surrounded by every nurse in the place, one was holding a box fan at my feet, the one on my right was unplugging me and the one on my left was freaking because my blood pressure had spiked and she thought I was going to "stroke out". Oh yeah, what is probably the biggest head that ever ducked a door in the place I work was standing over me with a big smile on his face.....teasing. I know without reservation that this man cares for me, as he does everyone he knows. From his big feet to his big head, he has the biggest heart of anyone I know, but he has no idea what he has just done.

Where this came from is from me reading about a young man that was writing about the fact that he feels a need to "come out" to the check out person at the grocery store. He really enjoys flowers, everything about them and he buys them regularly. And when the checks out he routinely hears, "Oh, she's gonna love those!" A simple statement, no harm meant, none taken. But, they are for his partner, him. He knows there are many people around today that claim that they don't care. He, on the other hand, would love to hear of more people that do care.

Also, a co-worker of mine just gave me a gift. It was something I had jokingly told her when I saw her wearing it that I just HAD to have. She presented it to me right before a meeting we have at work just before we start in the mornings. She walked up to me and smiled and handed me that iridescent, incredibly pink, bandanna. I immediately wrapped it around my head. She stroked my long whiskers and grinned and said, "It really makes that silver shine!" After the meeting, on the way to my work station, I joked to another co-worker, "the things I do for women." He replied, "do you mean the masculine ones?"

Teasing.....I know.....and I care.

Postscript
The next visit to the Lawton Blood Bank and I will hit my original goal of one gallon.