…was awaiting me this morning on my way to work.

Impatiently as ever, I was waiting for the traffic light to switch to green, so I could continue my speed race to work – as usual, I was late and had to compensate for slowness at home with rapidity on my bike.

Then, I discovered a children’s group crossing the street: While the group was waddling chaotically across the street, the teachers kept a watchful eye on them. A probably homeless person, and good Samaritan, was shambling behind the group, where he made a hand sign to the waiting cars at the red (!) traffic light. Stubbornly, he waited till the last little toddler had reached the sidewalk, shooting a final severe look at the annoyed looking driver, and continued walking to the other side of the road.

As soon as the volunteer crossing-guard reached the pavement, he seemed to shrink in size, having been deprived of his newly given task. At that moment, I wished that there were more classes crossing to give meaning to a person who might not find it elsewhere. It’s nice to be needed …

L.