This is a post by Fix The Toaster contributor Shannon Noel Webb. Meet Frank.
Frank moved into our neighborhood about a year ago. He’s a nice guy. The quiet type. But he carries a big stick. Literally, he never puts that flag down. And he always wears that red hat. Isn’t he cute? We just love Frank. He’s a safety guard and his job is to save the lives of our children. And let me tell you something, Frank is good at his job.
Rumor has it that he moved across the country to be with us. We did some research and we think he used to live here and that it only cost him $29.95 total in moving expenses.
My neighbors and I feel so lucky to have Frank looking out for our kids. We live on a narrow street in the hills of Los Angeles. It’s steep and curvy. Our front yards are the sidewalks and the driveways and this is where our little ones play. People drive so fast down our little street. We don’t understand it at all. Frank says it’s because everyone is in such a hurry these days. He says people text and read e-mails while they drive. He thinks people are angry and fed up with all kinds of things in the world which also makes them drive faster. He says there’s only one thing to do: Make people notice. Make them have to slow down to pass by. So that’s what he does. He stands in the middle of the street whenever any of our kids are playing and he makes people notice!
And he has saved a life. Look at this:
This is my oldest, almost falling off the curb. This happens, it’s a tough turn for a tricycle. I know some readers might be wondering how I could just stand there taking pictures while this was happening. Believe me, I was having a minor heart attack and running towards him, which is why this picture is fuzzy. But see, Frank was there too. He’s like a secret service man, throwing himself in front of a car or a bullet to protect our kids. And this car slowed down the minute he saw that little red hat. You do not mess with Frank.
We know that Frank can’t do it all by himself. We parents are there, monitoring our little ones, but it takes a village and we’re very happy to have Frank living in ours.