The Crossing Guard

 Sometimes there is a person who enters your life and it occurs to you at that moment that they were meant to be there, to teach you a lesson, serve a purpose or help you to figure out what you believe in and how you see yourself in the world.  As quickly as they enter your world they may disappear.

A perfect stranger or someone close to you can emerge and at that exact moment you know that your life will be affected in some profound way.  Such a person entered my life this past fall.  He got my attention with a wave...actually many waves...and not just to me.  It wasn't personal and yet I took it that way. 

Who does this guy think he is??  A perfect stranger standing on the magical corner of Monroe and Glenway, waving at people driving by like he knows them?  Right by Parman's Service Station where they still advertise Lubrication for your car engine and next to Mallatt's Pharmacy which has been there forever and is known for it's Halloween Costume rental and discount wine (my personal favorite). This man puts his life on the line every day at this intersection where making a change from the left to the right lane must be like running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.  Yet, I have a feeling if tragedy were to strike, he would go down waving.

This man dressed in blaze orange waves his heart and arms out five days a week, twice a day.  The interesting thing is some people wave back and some people don't and that is just fine with him.  Some find it a ritual that needs to be attended to and some find it an annoyance that is going to cause an accident (unlike cell phone usage, make-up application, i-pod tuning etc.).  Here's the thing.  I think that this guy is onto something here.  This waving man has started a movement.  To wave or not to wave?...that is the question.  What does it say about you non-wavers out there?  That you are unfriendly, uninterested, cautious, mad as hell or ambivalent? How about us wavers?  Are we living on the edge each day or merely thumbing our noses at the snobs who drive on by looking straight aheadpretending like they could possibly miss the flailing arms and orange coat which stands out like a beacon in the night this time of year.  I wave back because that is the civilized thing to do. This man is reaching out...he is trying to make a connection, a difference each day.  I think he is saying appreciate today and everyday that you have.  You will never be able to experience any given day again.  Let yourself wave back, fall in love, break free, set your bar higher, say hi to a stranger, forgive someone, pay something forward.  Hold your head up high and don't be afraid to wave.  He waves at everyone knowing that maybe 10% of you will wave back but he does it anyway because he has a message.  Believe in yourself and toot your own "horn" for if you don't no one else will do it for you.  Make your life the way you want to and then go out and live it with reckless abandon and with no regrets.  I think his overall message is;  learn a lesson each day that you live...in other words...BE A WAVER!

On the other hand, he could just be trying to stay warm....