Tonight, TNT aired the season finale of Boston’s Finest. Viewers from all over the nation tuned in, wrapped in blankets trying to keep warm and forget the frigid weather outside. We watched as the fine Boston Police force, again, took to the streets to make their corner of the world a little safer.
Tonight’s storyline had special meaning for people who received lifesaving blood from strangers and the surviving families of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Many blood recipients have never had the opportunity to say “thank you” to the person who so generously rolled up a sleeve to help save their lives. It was a touching and unexpected surprise on the finale to see Officer Greg Dankers support his wife as she gave blood at the 12th annual Red Cross Blood Drive at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. on the anniversary of the tragedy.
Blood donors and blood recipients are connected in a unique way. Though recipients may never meet their donors face-to-face, they will always hold a special place in their hearts for the anonymous gift they were given. Watching a TV finale at the same time in separate living rooms may be the closest they’ll ever come to sharing this powerful moment. Whether the recipients were fighting cancer or sickle-cell anemia, surviving a traumatic car accident or other injury, they had someone fighting with them – their blood donors — heroes in their own right. Blood donors helped Nancy Dankers survive the delivery of her twins.
TNT’s Boston’s Finest reminds us every week of the importance of virtues like integrity, courage, and character. It reminds us of the dark corners we all must go around, and the heroes that help us safely face them. Sometimes, we must be afraid, and do it anyways.
The cold that is keeping us all indoors tonight has also led to another chilling fact —Severe winter weather across much of the U.S. is affecting the ability of the American Red Cross to collect blood and platelet donations. Nearly 240 Red Cross blood drives have been canceled in 23 states, resulting in a shortfall of nearly 7,000 blood and platelet donations.
Please, if you’re in an area of the US where you can safely do so, make an appointment to donate blood. There is another Boston’s Finest fan who watched with you tonight who will need it, and, the cold has, indeed, had a chilling effect on blood supply. Courage is in helping, even though you may never know the person you helped. Join Officer Greg Dankers and his wife, Nancy, by stepping up to the plate. Let’s join forces to meet that 7,000 donation shortfall together to celebrate this season’s finale at its finest. And, let’s tell the officers of @BOSfinestTNT that they inspired us to do it.
“This is what you do — you look out for people,” Officer Dankers, one of Boston’s Finest, reminds us all.