Sister said…

My fourth-grade teacher, a nun, taught us to “say a little prayer whenever you hear a siren.”  And so…I have said a little prayer for years whenever I hear a siren. I repeat Sister’s prayer and add my own addendum: “Please, God, help the people who are in trouble and protect the helpers, too.” So when I heard the sirens behind me during my morning commute, I recited my petition and then listened for details on the radio of the blocking accident up ahead. Sister never taught us all the variations of our petition: praying for the murdered child, for the murdered wife, for the nearby commuters, for the convicted-felon driver, for the trooper who witnessed the suicide, for the investigators, for the coroner, for the funeral home employees. Perhaps the variations are too much for children. I know they’re too much for me.