Not in Lockdown.....

Today I start my new job, helping old grannies cross the road for charity. I have to get up early today, it's the middle of the night really, 6am. I put on my two tops for some layers against the cold and my newly given fluorescent yellow jacket, but no lollipop pole, god, I'm even lower down than a school crossing guard I think to myself.

I had offered to work for a charity as a way of just doing something different and I know in the past, I had helped old grannies, either by lifting shopping into their car, or by helping them cross the road and I remember that it made me feel good. There was that one time I had tried to stop an old aged pensioner cross the road as a car was shooting up towards her but she slapped my arm away and told me to “bugger off”. She then got splatted by the speeding car. I did try to stop her though..

So now I am standing in the cold fresh air of a new morning by the zebra crossing near my local shop. A couple of teenage girls with about 6 kids between them I know from my estate walk past and look at me in disgust, calling me rude names. I just reply "I got told you weren't allowed to have kids you, aren't you on some sort of register or something?”, and they just turned away and scurried off.

My 1^st client so to speak was a little old thing, hunched over at the back, so far her face was literally staring at the ground. She must have been in her nineties and she certainly wasn't dressed for the cold. She was also carrying a bag of shopping I presumed she had got from the shop, her arms must be aching I thought to myself.

“Would you like some help crossing the road my dear”, I asked her, she hardly turned her head, not that I knew if she could, to say “Yes please”. So I take her heavy bag of shopping off her, assuring her I would not be stealing it, and put my arm around her cotton white jacket she had on. I looked both ways at the endless traffic coming at us and put my hand up to tell them all to stop dead as I didn't want some Audi Quattro banging into us as at 40mph as we crossed the road..

“Thank you”, the old lady said as we started to cross the road, “what's your name?”, she asked me. “Rob” I replied and carried on holding her tight to me as we made our way across the road. Not only did it make me feel warm but it was the nearest thing I had to a cuddle in nearly 2 years.

Once on the other side she actually managed to raise her head a little bit and looked me in the eye, old grey wrinkles, smudged lipstick and blusher everywhere.. “Thank you very much for that”, “It was my pleasure” I responded and gave the little old lady her shopping back.

She shuffled off slowly to the bus stop and when she reached it she turned back to see me and gave me a little wave. I responded with a wave also, and shouted out “Take care” and couldn't help feel a sense of goodness crawl through my body. This job may not be paying me any money but if it makes me feel good without booze, pills or drugs then sod it, it's worth doing I thought to myself as I walked back to the crossing.

© 2021 – All Rights Reserved - Robert Reid