She became a fixture on the highly visible corner. Everybody in the neighborhood knew her with her stop sign in hand, her chit chat with passing motorist, her waves , her opinions and her presence that was a constant.
At age 81, she has decided to pass up another year, another year of being out in the weather. The heat, the cold, the rain, wind. Starting in the dark on those cold winter mornings and ending in the dark on those cold winter nights.
When she started she crossed many children, by her account perhaps as many as 25 for each session. Much reduced from 50 years ago when there might have been 100. Now she crosses no one. She had one kid up until about 5 years ago and then he graduated to middle school. Once a year on walk your child to school day she might have 3 or 4 in the company of their parents.. Kids no longer walk to school, they don't ride their bikes. They are driven and dropped off.
A ritual of our youth is gone. There are no school buses dropping children at my neighborhood school, it is strictly moms and sometimes a dad doing the drop.
My friend Irene has become obsolete, yet the town still required her presence, probably more from the fact that they had no idea that she was crossing no children and hadn't bothered to check on utilization of services for years.. Such is the way of government to provide a service regardless of the lack of need. It has always been done this way and that is the way we will always do it, without question. To her credit , she used to suggest that she would perhaps be better utilized two blocks over where there was a little cadre of urchins who walked the two blocks to school. Three or four of them.
No, we have always done it this way. So for years she appeared on time , in uniform, ready willing and able to cross the child , but the child has not come in years.
No matter, my friend dutifully showed up on her corner and stayed the course in the event that some kid would come trundling down the sidewalk with oversized backpack on shoulders and need to be crossed. It never happened in recent memory, but she waved to the moms dropping off and chit chatted and for sure she picked up her pay chack. For 25 years it got her out of the house, gave her something to do through her 60s and 70s. But now in her 80s it is too hot, too cold, too wet , to windy and too tiring .
Also two bouts of pneumonia which almost killed her last winter made her choice easier.
Enjoy your second sunset Irene.