Day 4 Heads -- About the Crossing Guard

I join memes because I find them fun and because they give me ideas for things to blog about. I'm not the most creative person around when it comes time to write, but is you give me an assignment or an idea I can usually run with it. So the Tuesday meme that I've found to be interesting in called Heads or Tails. This is a Heads week and the prompt is Guard. On a Heads week the writer can actually let her *guard* down and write or demonstrate the prompt in any manner chosen. As I contemplated guard the school crossing guard came to mind.

Do any of you happen to remember these metal crossing guards that school used way back when. I remember, in the small town where I grew up, there was one placed in the street each morning and afternoon by the janitor, I believe, during my elementary school days. It reminded drivers to slow down and showed us where it was safe to cross the road. I don't remember having to cross that road very often. And for me there was a wee bit of a sense of envy of those who did cross by that magical metal man who kept them safe. To get to our house we just stayed on the same side of the street that the school was on and walked f o r e v er (I'm sure it wasn't as far as I thought it was). I don't think these type signs are used much any more -- or at least not here where I am.

However, each morning on my way to work I pass through a school zone. At the traffic light in the middle of this zone is a crossing guard. This woman is there every morning and every afternoon with her stop sign. There have been many times I have stopped at a red light and watched her walk to the center of the street holding her sign then motion to the group of three or four students waiting on the corner to come across. When the students are all on the far side of the road she makes her way back to her side to wait for the next group. Most times the children are across and she is back on the curb before the light changes, but there have been times when the group of children is large that she has actually had to walk back after the light for those waiting with me has turned green. I wonder if she ever feels fear of a car not staying stopped. I wonder if she would like to have that metal policeman standing there to help protect her. I wonder what it would be like to be the crossing guard for a school on a busy street.