BRATTLEBORO — For those of us who had the good fortune to grow up in quiet neighborhoods, we saw the roads as a resource and gathering place. A place to play games. An opportunity for fun.
The open space and firm surface provided the raw elements for team sports like baseball and touch football. Basketball hoops on the edge of the road created the conditions for a basketball court.
The curbing and telephone poles offered boundary lines that would contain games we would sometimes invent on our bikes.
A local historian of bicycle travel tells me that before motor vehicles were invented, these conditions were common on many roads in towns and cities across the United States.
But the invention of Henry Ford's Model A and Model T changed all that. Heavy metal vehicles moving fast along our roads rendered them unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists, and the games that were played there.
Motor vehicles transformed our streets from a place to play and talk and congregate to the territory of the fast, the anxious, and sometimes furious. Elevating the risk to our young children. Sometimes when they were simply doing as they were told and walking to school.
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School crossing guards have been the quiet super heroes who have been reducing that risk. For decades, they've been an added feature of our streets during the school year.
Often, they're retired residents whose primary motivation seems to be to give back to the community. They stand as sentinels in some of the more challenging intersections of our town, shepherding children (and adults, too!) while holding the motor vehicles at bay.
They express kindness and compassion by acting in the interests of our children's safety. And in so doing, they help to create the conditions of trust in environments that otherwise would be dangerous to our children.
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Years ago, I met two twin brothers who've been doing this work in Brattleboro. In the past year, I've enjoyed traveling through the two intersections that Scott and Stanley Haselton manage. They smile often and always exchange friendly comments with people going by.
I don't know much about the Haselton twins. I'm sure they have lives both varied and complex. Perhaps even lives that challenge their ability to be compassionate under all circumstances.
But they show up all the time on these streets and smile and express care and kindness.
They make it safer for our kids to manage through the difficult network of streets that weave through this town.
They make it easier for our kids to trust that they'll be kept safe and protected by the older generation.
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They're not alone in this work. The other crossing guards do the same. Regardless of the weather or the season. They show up and make these streets a little more humane.
All of them.
That's a gift. I don't know what motivates people to do this work. Motivation can be multiple in its sources and expectations.
But given the dedication and the smiles I see shared each morning, I have to believe that their hearts are involved. That these people care deeply in their hearts and want to see others be safe.
They help nurture our next generation. They give back. Just some among the many in our community who create the conditions for a compassionate community.
A big thank you to the many crossing guards in our town.
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Compassion Story of the Month: With Brattleboro voting overwhelmingly to become part of the international Charter for Compassion, the Reformer and The Commons have agreed to publish a "Compassion Story of the Month." This is the 73rd. Submissions, from Brattleboro area residents, for future publication, not to exceed 650 words, should be emailed to: [email protected] or mailed to: Compassion Story of the Month, PO Box 50, Marlboro, VT 05344. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address. Earlier submitted stories will automatically be considered in subsequent months.
Paul Rodrigue, a marriage and family therapist, teaches meditation and brings mindfulness into a therapeutic environment. He is active with Compassionate Brattleboro and in restorative justice.
This Voices column was submitted to The Commons.