Praying the Night away.

Last night I was covering an hour of the 40 Days for Life vigil with a few friends when something exciting happened. We were trying to start a rosary (after they let me babble on about something or other for a while) when we heard sirens. As anyone who lives near a fire or police station can testify, that's not very unusual in the city. Because of this we paused for a minute and then started the rosary again. Then we heard more sirens.

These first few bits of prayer wound up being a microcosm of the whole rosary for us, as by the time we finished there were at least 4 proper fire trucks (the ones with ladders), several fire SUVs, at least 5 ambulances, a few police officers directing traffic, and a news van simultaneously labelled with a channel number (you know, like "Channel 5 news" or "XKCD 8: Your local news today!") and Telemundo. I can only hope our Spanish-speaking followers got the whole story from them.

This whole event played out over the course of our rosary. Have you ever tried to focus on prayer while sirens are blaring all around you? I don't recommend it, though apparently Daniel's homeys (Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael) managed it just fine. However, one of the benefits of the sirens being so close was that it gave me a reminder of why we are out there: life. We don't care if it is a child in the womb, a grandparent in a rocking chair, or anyone in between those two. That made it easier to focus, for me at least.

When we were done, we texted a friend on the force (drizzle is always well-connected) to ask what was happening and learned that one of the L trains was having issues with its brakes; specifically, they were smoking. Fortunately, I had driven. But our prayer had been expanded and our hour had flown by while we contemplated the life and death situations that those civil servants had potentially been facing. Plus, when one of the fire trucks left, he honked his horn as he turned the corner from us, and I saw the fireman in the passenger seat (are there actually passengers on a fire truck? We'll call it the non-driving seat) looking at us to let us know it was for us. Or at least, that's my story.

And this is why night hours are the best. Would that be nearly as exciting in the day? Of course not. (I'm allowed to answer my own questions, right?) The contrast of lights and the darkness, of sirens and the silence, of action and the sleep surrounding us all built up the drama. Also, not to be overlooked, I learned something. Remember when you were a kid and had the matchbox car sets? We always wanted a fire truck or a police car, and always got some strange looking thing that had "Fire Department" or "Police Department" written on it. Well, I can now testify that all of them exist. I saw a red truck with what looked like a spotlight on the back, a fire department version of the paddy-wagon, two different sized official fire trucks (you know, ladders and whatnot), and at least one other vehicle type that did something I couldn't identify. They're real things, not just matchbox giving your cheap parents a way around your request for a fire truck. (Your parents, and mine, were still cheap, though. Man I wanted that fire truck.)

So far during the night, 40 Days for Life has 1) seen this aforementioned emergency situation, 2) had pizza thrown at us (I promise I am not kidding), and 3) had a police officer stop by with, uh, we'll say some friendly advice. During the day? Umm, I think a few people prayed, and maybe some people walked down the sidewalks. Oh, and some cars drove down the street. Yeah, definitely. Which sounds cooler, night or day? Of course it's night. Night is always cooler. Don't believe me? Ask Barney Stinson. Oh wait, I did, and he said that everything good happens after 2am. Like that time Lily kicked Korean Elvis in the nards. (Don't do this at the vigil site, though.)

So guys, it's time to man up. Night hours are hard, I get that. But they are way cooler and more meaningful than the day hours. And one last incentive--the ladies will think you're awesome. Don't believe me? Last year I took a bunch of night hours, and this year I'm engaged. Think about it.