Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Lord of the Crossing

Those who are reading A Song of Ice and Fire are thinking of Lord Frey, which is neat but not what this post is about. I'm talking about crossing guards, who are usually female, which pretty much blows the title. Sue me.

I took the train into town yesterday, and that means walking 1.5 miles through Mayfair to get to the station. On the way home, the schools were emptying, so I got to see crossing guards in action. I have a strange admiration for these women and (more rarely) men. I like the idea of people who make the crosswalks safe for children, which is really odd considering I don't care much for children. I always respect the authority of the crossing guard, waiting until she signals the children to cross even though I am technically outside her authority. If the job actually paid something, and if I liked children better, I'd consider it. If the city created adult crossing guards I would sign up, and perhaps be lucky enough to get posted at 5th & South. That means I'd get to be outside and people-watch whilst making sure no boneheads block the box.

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