Take an Election Time Out - Early COVID Column - when giving blood gave back.

Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" served as inspiration

Early COVID Column 4/15/20:

About a month ago, after seeing David Botkins from Dominion Energy post that he had gone down to the local American Red Cross to donate blood, I decided to do take up the challenge.

It felt good to help out. I never knew just how much that donation was going to help me in return.

Enter Paul Harvey's voice for "The Rest of the Story"

I'm not going to lie, this is a tough time. But you know that.

Approaching the Easter weekend, I conferred with my sisters that we really shouldn't get together. We also decided that Dad REALLY should not come over as he usually does for holidays and other family events.

It made total sense, but it also was really hard to call him and tell him that we really didn't want to be responsible for reuniting him with Mom who passed seven years ago.

Dad got it. Understood. He's a very practical guy.

But still...

We trudged on planning our traditional menu of cinnamon rolls and Eggs Benedict. It would not be the same since my dad a.k.a. "Baka" makes THE best hollandaise sauce EVER.

The night before Easter, our oldest child, the newlywed as of December 28th, texted that she wanted my cinnamon roll recipe.

Full stop. You want what?

She wanted the four generation cinnamon roll recipe. The ones Grandma Brown used to ship to Uncle Phil in Vietnam.

You ask...in a text? No ceremony? No music?

Can't be done. It's in my head and very different from that of other family members.

I have refined the basics over the years much to the consternation of my sisters.

We compete. We literally compare and contrast three different attempts at cinnamon rolls EVERY time.

Who wins?

(please)

Who got the text?

One year at Christmas I went with a brioche dough as an experiment. It was fabulous but not worth the argument that ensued. Did I mention that we compete for the best ones EVERY time? (NO FAIR! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!)

Did I mention they are my little sisters?

So, I dropped back to just adding some cake flour. This was an acceptable but dangerous amendment to the sacred.

All hell broke loose the year I broke out cream cheese icing.

Also fabulous and I regret nothing about it.

Back to the newlywed.

We decided to Face Time the making of the cinnamon rolls (yes, and icing) thus passing the torch of the Scrutonian "rare and excellent" to the FIFTH generation.

My favorite batch of all time.

The good news is that Mary Kathryn Marine Corps bride wrote the recipe down and I will be able to share that going forward.

I categorically disagree with all those who won't share the "secret ingredient" or technique. That's just too selfish.

Right? Especially now! It's just a recipe.

Chef Joel Robuchon became world famous because of his mashed potatoes and that recipe has THREE ingredients.

Five, if you include salt and pepper. Potato, milk, butter.

Sublime and shared.

Back to the Red Cross and The Rest of The Story.

They did any amazing, cosmic thing with my donation.

The Red Cross emailed to tell me what had happened to it.

Dear Christopher,

Thank you for giving blood with the American Red Cross on March 19, 2020. After first ensuring that local needs were met, your blood donation was sent to Excela Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, PA to help a patient in need. Your donation is on its way to change lives!

You're probably thinking, "Well, that's great. But..."

But here is The Rest of The Story.

There is only one hospital in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, a town of 15,000 thirty miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Westmoreland Hospital located at 532 W. Pittsburgh St.

It's been around for a very long time.

In fact, during the Great Depression there was young surgical scrub nurse at Westmoreland Hospital. Twila Long met and married a local insurance agent named Bill who bore a striking resemblance to the actor Spencer Tracy.

Later in life, Bill would be pulled over for speeding in Los Angeles. The police officer refused to give him a ticket because he was convinced it was, in fact, Spencer Tracy.

The young couple would later conceive a son who would be born in that same Westmoreland Hospital on September 2, 1938.

That son would then have three children of his own who would compete for his confection affection at the holidays with a cinnamon roll recipe from his wife's family.

Dad has never picked the winning batch but he visits his wife every Sunday afternoon as he has since January 2013. He knows the secret to a great recipe.

Time, love, giving, and sharing are pretty good ingredients.

A BIG thank you to the American Red Cross for taking that extra step to let me know that my blood was paid forward to the place where my father was born.

Thanks also for sending me the email on April 14th, the exact same date my grandfather, whom I never met,  passed in Westmoreland Hospital.

Now you know...the rest of that story.

We have a large task ahead of us putting this economy back together.

It could be a great story if we follow the proven recipe of the most recent week and weekend.

The rest of our story will mourn our losses, prepare our renewal, and celebrate our rebirth.

Let's take up our challenge together.