"Life!" yelled the vendor. "Life, Life, come get your life." I had only stopped for a moment. I had only left the moving mass of people for a second. When I looked up there stood a brightly colored umbrella over a white marble veneered hot dog cart. It stood in a warm bright corner where the stone work of the building jutted out and left an unused section of the sidewalk. The vendor clothed in red and white stood under the red, blue, white, green, and purple umbrella looking up and yelling to the oblivious passers by in the cold gray street, "Life, Life, come and get your life!"

Slowly a woman emerged from the indifferent crowd. She had an undescript dress, empty arms and full breasts. As long hair blew in the wind she approached the marble cart holding her arms out rigidly as if she expected a bundle to laid upon them. The vendor warmly looked into the woman' eyes and smiled. Then the vendor reached into the cart and gently pulled out a bundle of blankets which were placed in the woman's arms as if it belonged there. Then the vendor opened one end of the blanket and in it lay a tiny baby. As the mother walked away she pressed the child to her bosom as if it had always been there.

"Life!" cried the vendor. "Come get your life!" Next came forward a young person much like any other young person who stopped in the rush of the crowd just long enough to hear the call "Life!" All alone this person stood there. Then this skinny person cautiously approached the vendors cart as if not knowing what to expect but looking for something. The young person held out their left hand and the vendor reached into the cart and pulled out a small gold ring and placed it on the ring finger of the young person. The young person re-entered the moving mass of people.

"Life!" sang the vendor like a newspaper child advertising an extra. "Come get your life!" A woman wearing a black dress and veil stopped as she was slowly walking by. She stood in front of the cart with her hands folded in front of her and cried. The vendor reached across the cart to the woman and hugged her. Then the vendor reached into the cart and pulled out a red rose and a road map. The woman slowly turned her face and joined the crowd as it walked on.

"Life!" conjolled the vendor. "Come and get your life." Then a business man tripped out of the crowd. His gray flannel suit having been neatly pressed. The man suddenly had his pace broken and found himself faced by the one calling "Life!" Then the vendor reached into the cart quickly before the Business man could regain his wits and rejoined the crowd and pulled out a small flower and handed it to the bewildered onlooker. Not knowing what to do the man walked away smelling the flower.

"Life!" urged the vendor. "Come and get your life!" Next came a lost person. Whether it was a man or woman I could not tell. It didn't matter. The person wandered up to the cart with a questioning look. "Where am I? Why am I here? Who are you? What is the meaning?" The person fell to their knees and faced the cart as if the answers were written on the sides in the marble patterns. Then the vendor reached into the cart and pulled out a handful of water and placed it on the seekers head. And as if being enlightened that person joined the crowd with a direction.

"Life! yelled the vendor more. "Come get your life!" The sun was getting low and the indifferent crowd of passers by began to thin. When I looked again there stood a priest dressed in black with a thin face, silver hair, and a small white collar. He approached the vendor with open hands, one resting in the other. So the vendor reached into the cart and pulled out a loaf of bread. After holding it up in the air and saying a few silent words the vendor broke it and gave it to the priest and they ate together.

Then the vendor stopped yelling and started pushing the cart away. I followed the vendor out of curiosity and at the same time out of compulsion. Where is this "life"? I followed first at a distance and then later I was under the umbrella with the vendor. I the spectator was welcome. Other vendors joined us as we journeyed through the streets. Some with gold carts, some with granite and cedar. All pushing the carts. They greeted one another and chatted and seemed to know precisely where they were going. They kept meeting us as if they were converging on a point.

At first it was only a speck in the distance. As we drew close I could see that this was no ordinary object on the horizon. Suddenly friendly chatter faded into a silent hush. It was a cross. It was a crucifix. A large crucifix! It was not until I was closer that I realized that it was a large life size crucifix. As the carts gathered round, the vendors reverently moved up to the crucifix and gathered the blood which flowed from the wounds of the one on the cross. Some gathered the blood in small glasses. Some gathered it in silver and gold chalices. Others in wine bottles, and juice jars. They all gather the blood of the one bleeding in the crucifix. They all walked away from the bleeding cross to their carts as if the containers they had were priceless. But slowly and reverently they all placed the containers of that sacrificial blood in their carts.

The yelling of the vendors had turned to a solemn silence, but I yelled. I broke the holy silence out of a compulsion from all that I had seen. I had seen more that a person can rightfully know on their own. The revelation of this day had changed the way I saw "Life". So I yelled, "I want life! I want to give life!" Bright faces looked at me and I broke the holy silence again with my desperate cry, 'I want life! I need to give life!" Then I was brought to the front by an irresistible force and I kneeled before the one on the crucifix. He laid his large bleeding hands on my head. The blood from his wounds ran down my head and face as he prayed. My clothes were bleached red and white.

Now I stand behind a carved granite altar and cry to the ambivalent crowd,

"Life! �Lift up your hearts!�"

And some reply, "We come for life! �We lift them up to the Lord!�"

"Receive life. 'It is meet and right that we should both at all times and in all places lift up our hearts and give our great thanksgiving to God...�"