The International Gift of Life Walk, The MV Dorothy Day, and the Need for Coffee

A Short Story about a Long Day in the Big City

A pro-life dog. Actually, I think all dogs are pro-life.

There are two words that never seem worth saying, no matter how true they are…

"I'm tired."

That’s because everybody's tired.

The pace of the modern age, 24-hour news cycles, and the endless stream of information flowing from our devices.

No wonder we're all tired.

Starbucks and Red Bull are the two best-selling beverages, and not because people are thirsty (though maybe that's true, too).

All this to say, on Tuesday morning, I was particularly tired. And I had two major stories to cover: The MV Dorothy Day, the newest addition to the Staten Island Ferry fleet, and the 9th Annual International Gift of Life Walk in Lower Manhattan.

I'd hoped to board the MV Dorothy Day during the early morning rush, since she only sails during peak hours. But after my pre-dawn trek, the ferry awaiting me was the MV Guy Molinari.

Not that I have anything against the vessel named for the former Senator and Borough President, but I'd hoped to photograph the ferry named after the woman on the path to sainthood.

Not that Guy Molinari isn't.

But I haven't seen any Vatican paperwork on that yet.

Arriving at Whitehall Terminal two hours early for the Walk, I took a slow route to Foley Square and collapsed onto a bench near St. Andrew's, where I'd witnessed a young woman praying a few weeks earlier. It was cold,but sunny.

As the rally crowd began to gather, I realized my last coffee was at 5:00 AM. It was now 11:00. I yawned.

Tired or not, here we go.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but everything felt different this year.

The sun was shining, and the knee-deep puddles and gale-force winds of previous years were nowhere in sight.

There was no frustrating search for a parking spot, akin to finding Bigfoot, thanks to my ferry ride on the wrong boat.

And remarkably, there were no protesters, no trash hurled, no angry words shouted toward peaceful marchers.

I felt like I'd stepped into an alternate timeline.

Yet one thing hadn't changed: the reason for the International Gift of Life Walk.

To proclaim that every life, from conception onward, carries infinite worth and deserves dignity and respect.

Just a week earlier, Manhattan's last remaining Planned Parenthood had quietly closed. In the abortion capital of the Northeast.

That wasn't just symbolic; it was seismic.

It was clear that another shift had taken place… it wasn't the message.

It was the momentum behind it.

This year's International Gift of Life Walk in New York City felt like the dawn of a new, beautiful day.

The streets echoed only with Prayer, Joy, and Hope.

The kind of Prayer that's not self-seeking, but self-sacrificing.

The kind of soul-deep Joy that springs from abiding friendship with Christ.

The kind of Hope rooted in trusting His relentless Love and Mercy.

As the Walk arrived at Nassau Street, just a stone's throw from the Whitehall Terminal, I slipped away from the crowd toward the ferry, reflecting gratefully on the outpouring of Grace we'd received.

Twenty minutes later, back at St. George dock and wearier than before, a Dunkin' Donuts sign loomed in the distance, kind of like a mirage in a desert.

Coffee…

But then, the unthinkable happened.

A horn blasted…

And as I turned to see where the earsplitting noise came from, I saw the MV Dorothy Day gliding into the departure slip, ready for her first afternoon run to Manhattan.

I laughed and thought, “No rest for the weary.”

And no coffee either.

Because there was one more trip across the harbor to make.

And now a few photos from the 9th Annual International Gift of Life Walk

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