75yr old pledges to work for 15 years and she does!
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Our oldest lollipop lady retires at 90
years of age. Beryl took the job on at
the age of 75 and pledged to keep going for 15 years, which she did come rain or
shine. When journalists asked her what
she plans to do now, she said she wanted to concentrate on the Women’s
Institute and work in the local charity shop.
Beryl is an incredible lady, but I think I
may be the only person who witnessed something Beryl did that totally blew me
away.
As like many other drivers in the area, we
all used to stop dutifully and wait as Beryl helped school children cross the
road. No one ever became irritated, we
just sat there smiling and waving as we drove off.
One particular morning I drove up to
Beryl’s zebra crossing as she was just finishing her shift, it was quiet, the
school traffic had dispersed. She began
to walk up the hill to go home when a child caught her eye.
The little girl was in school uniform and
looked about 6 years old; her head was bent forward as she walked aimlessly
away from her school. Beryl turned,
walked towards her and gently put her arm around her shoulders. They spoke for a few minutes and Beryl guided
her back into school.
That was all I saw and I went on my way,
but I have never forgotten that day.
I imagined what may have happened to the
child had Beryl not been there. All
sorts of things could have gone wrong, but Beryl kept her safe without thinking
about it.
No matter how old or young we are, we can
still look after one another and contribute to our community. Often we are not even aware if we have been
of use, but we probably have. Just like
Beryl.
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