One Monday, a couple of years ago, my wife and I crossed the driveway from the manse to the church to give blood — the regular bi-monthly Red Cross drive. It was the first time either of us had been permitted to donate in over a year because of the restrictions on donations from anyone who had been in Mexico within the preceding twelve months, and we had been there on a mission trip. There was the danger of Malaria. We went through all the preliminaries — sign in, read the instructions, blood pressure, pinprick, health questions — then, finally, up on the table, arm out, tourniquet on, and voilá, the blood flows.

There are certain things one does not want to happen when lying there in such a vulnerable position. You do not want to hear someone who is working on you suddenly say, "Oops." Y…