Not Just a Job

Today I watched a crossing-guard tweeting her whistle at a car, in increasingly strident blasts, and finally, when it became clear the car was not going to stop at the crosswalk, actually throw herself up onto its hood. The car slammed on its brakes and she rolled off the hood, cussing at the driver. She put her head close to the driver side window and screamed at him, pointing at the pedestrians. She was so mad she kept muttering and twitching even after he had driven away. It’s really noble when you think about it, to be that invested in your job – to have the safety of strangers so paramount in your mind that you apparently take any threat to them personally. All the pedestrians were just watching her in awe.