Friday 3:30 AM

Sitting on the couch with my son in the middle of the night.  Passing the time with a movie, waiting for the pharmacy to open so that when the inevitable prescription for antibiotics is written it can be filled, the bug-killers taken, and the hoped-for process of recovery from strep throat can begin.  The kid sent me in search of a bucket; because you never know when you’ll need a bucket.  My search took me outside onto the patio.  And I heard the singing.  

We live in sight of several villages, each with a green-lit minaret reaching for the sky.  Depending on the breeze, and the volume of the loudspeakers, the call to prayer can often be clearly heard. Lying in bed in the pre-dawn dark, I hear them calling; starting a new day as the old one ended, but tonight was not a call.  Tonight was a love song. Sometimes, ritual can become devotion.  Tonight I heard it, curling through the darkness as soft and sweet as the smell of the citrus blossoms on our tree right now.  I came back inside (with the bucket), sat beside our boy and didn’t start the movie. “Listen” I said.  “Can you hear the singing?” 

And the wind shifted, and the song faded away.  We started up the movie again, and the sounds of Roger Rabbit filled the room again, but I couldn’t help but think about the pre-fast meals taking place just across the highway.