TEHACHAPI, Calif. (KERO) — School zones are designed to grab your attention and ensure that students get to and from school safely. Flashing lights, reduced speed limits, and bright crosswalks line the streets during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times.
Outside of Tehachapi High School, a crossing guard named Terry Stanley spends his mornings and afternoons on S. Dennison Road, making sure that students not only get to class safely but also with a smile on their faces.
"I'm here every day. Rain, sleet, snow or shine," Terry Stanley said.
Terry Stanley has worked as a crossing guard in Tehachapi for seven years. He says not only does this job keep him busy, but he takes its responsibility seriously.
"They are like my kids. I call them my kids, you know, because I'm responsible for them getting across, and that makes me feel like, 'Hey, I got an obligation to watch them get across and make sure nothing happens,'" Terry said. "That's what they call it, crossing guard, so I'm a guard...not that God, but a guard that protects."
Terry welcomed me to join him on his Tuesday afternoon shift at Tehachapi High School. Once it got busy for afternoon pickup, just about every car that passed got a wave and smile from Terry.
"I have gotten that from a few parents. They say, 'You know, you made my day because that day I wasn't feeling like nothing, but you came along and smiled and waved, and that just made my day better,'" Terry said.
I asked Terry how it makes him feel when people tell him that, and he responded very thoughtfully.
"It makes me feel good. Like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing for the lord," he said.
We spent about an hour together as students filed out of school on Tuesday afternoon. At one point, a group of students approached to ask what we were doing with the camera. After I mentioned I was working on a story about Terry, they wanted our viewers to know that Terry is the best.
During our conversation, I learned that although Terry's been a professional crossing guard for seven years, he does have experience in the field.
"Back in my elementary days, you remember they used to have the school guards—you had your little crossing belt and your little badge and stuff—and I used to be one of those," Terry said. "Never knew that I'd be doing this at this age, but here I am."
If you're driving near Tehachapi High School and see Terry working, he asks that first, you slow down in the school zone, and then feel free to give him a wave, a smile, and be kind.
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