Things that Go Honk in the Night

As I lay in bed last night, waiting to drift off to sleep, a nearby rooster started crowing (the whole thing about roosters crowing at dawn is hooey - they crow morning, noon, and night). A short time later, a car alarm went off, jerking me awake. A little later still, it was a car horn playing Dixie Land. It hit me that here I was, in a bed thousands of miles from my home in the States, hearing exactly the same sounds I could hear on the streets of just about any town in America. Roosters and horns and car alarms are the same the world around, I guess. Then it occured to me that during the past few days I´ve been hearing a completely different sound that is the same the world around - the sound of children laughing and playing, learning, eating, developing a sense of hope, and learning to believe that they are loved. It was a nice thought to fall asleep to.