gridlore | No Honking Zone

So, our policy at work is we cross anyone who is a 5th grader or below, with or without a parent or guardian present. We also tend to cross parents coming to and from the school, because we all want the kids to learn that the rules apply to everyone.

I will also cross the elderly, anyone who obviously needs a little extra time, and anyone with a baby.

And anyone with a dog. Because they're all good dogs!

But today, I found myself faced with a situation not covered in my official SCPD Crossing Guard manual.

A family of geese, walking down Pomeroy Ave. like they owned it. Goose, gander, and five adorable goslings.

Now it is the season to see a lot of geese and their offspring in Santa Clara. I saw several doing the 5k yesterday. But this was new. I had never seen a set just walking down the street before. I figured they were heading to Calabazas Creek, a few blocks further down Pomeroy.

When the two adult geese stepped into the crosswalk and started across Humboldt, I did what I'd do for any family. I stepped out, raised my stop sign, blew a gentle "tweet" on my whistle, and crossed them.

Which caused a sensation over at the school, where a good number of parents with very young kids in tow were waiting for the bigger siblings to get out. I had quite an audience as I followed my latest charges to the curb before clearing the intersection.

I love my job.