March 18, 2008 It’s just an orange vest and a broom handle with a flag...

I saw the world’s most confident school crossing guard today. Really. I was traveling the mandatory 20 mph and she was standing on the sidewalk, watching my approach. Our eyes met. She could tell that I had places to go, things to do, loans to research, and other very important business to attend to. But, damn it!, she had important business to attend to, too. There was a child, middle school age, walking up to her and needing to cross the road. The school was on the other side, and unlike the kids of my day, this young person was going TO school. I thought, "She’s going to let me, and the others that are near by, continue on our way because there’s no one behind me for miles." Well, I thought wrong. Ms. school crossing guard lady, in her bright orange reflective vest, stepped out in front of my car and held out her broom handle stick with the red square STOP sign on it. She had that look of bold confidence a toddler gets when you say "NO!" but are too far away to grab them before they slap their sibling for stealing a favorite toy. She KNEW she had the power to walk out into traffic and hold her sign up and no one could stop her. We all came to a complete stop, not daring to roll too close, and allow the one single child to cross the 4 lanes of traffic. Once safely across the street, the lady with the shiny reflective safety apparel went back to her post, a smug smile on her face. A smirk almost, with a hint of antagonism. And it makes me wonder what other roles she performs at the school. Was she once a recess lady, walking around with her whistle, blowing out quick bursts of noise to let anyone who might be thinking of doing something wrong that she’s watching. Maybe the lunch patrol lady, making sure all food goes from plate to mouth or plate to garbage can, and NO WHERE else. Or maybe she works in the office, sending out notices of poor behavior to unsuspecting parents. All I know is when she has her flag and her vest she means business and no one is stopping her from safely herding the little ones to school.