Once Upon A Time

When I was Mayor, I received a call one morning from a resident. It was about ten- minutes- past- nine. She had just arrived at work,still shaking after having witnessed a near miss between a child and a dump truck on Wellington Street West.

It was before nine. The child ran  across Wellington .Late for school. The truck missed him by inches. No crossing guard  in sight.

An inquiry established  agreement between the crossing guard and the person. whose job it was to manage the service. By eight-fifty-five am "all" children had crossed already. The crossing guard could leave.

The arrangement was immediately changed to  five after nine  a.m. 

At the time of re-construction of Wellington Street, there was considerable opposition.It cost me the office of Mayor.

There were two schools on the street. No sidewalks. Dump trucks loaded with gravel,  heading west represented a considerable  share of the traffic, gathering speed on the incline from Yonge Street .
There had been a  reported incident of a dump truck's brakes failing but fortunately without injury.

Children crossed from north side of the street  to  the  elementary school.  on George Street.

During a particularly bruising meeting, an angry teacher from George Street rose to her feet to make her point.

"The road  being  re-constructed  makes it  more dangerous for students" she said.

"What about the student I might hold back in school after the crossing guard has left" she demanded to know.

I responded by asking; "Do you hear what you are saying?  Why  would you even think of holding a child back in class until after the crossing guard has left Wellington Street?

The question  infuriated her further.

One of the anomalies  repeatedly brought home, is how willing people are  to believe" the government" has everything in hand at all times.

When a child is killed  by a vehicle, the entire  neighbourhood shares  the shock and grief,First there is stunned disbelief. Then  rage. Then  blame. Then determination never to allow it to happen again.

If  the rules were changed , it would never have happened.

In  fact, there are no rules, no government institutions. no amount of public expenditures  that
provides security for a child the way a parent can and should.

If a parent is prepared to leave their child's security  to someone else,why would they not understand  that someone else,  might  be prepared to leave it to someone else and someone else until there is no-one else.

How many times does a kindergarten child come home with coat open and mitts hanging?

It's not teacher's  job to make sure the child  is warmly clothed before going out into sub-zero temperatures.There are twenty-four children...only one teacher.

I never grew accustomed to the reality of how  people rely without question on "the government"to think  and act like a parent or even a person.

Even stranger is how determined people are to  deny the obvious.