For months when I leave work, I see a young lady standing in
the reception area of a technical high school waiting to be picked up. She
always stands in the same place and it is easy to see her.
The school day ends early. By the time I leave, I know
this poor girl has been waiting to be picked up for several hours. It really bugs me seeing her standing there alone
in a now empty building. Her posture communicates to me fear and sadness. I can
only imagine the tension the young lady must feel waiting for hours in an empty
building. With the heat off, the
building cools. Imagine the creaks, the groans she hears the building make, and what horrors must
run through her mind as she waits alone.
Standing there she is at the mercy of anyone who comes into the
building. As you might guess, night after night my feelings of pity
for the young lady spring up and as a result my irritation toward her parents
enlarges with each passing day.
Last week, Tuesday, I left work later than usual. There she
was still waiting to be picked up. Now I am angry. Who are these parent? Thoughts flashed
through my mind of what I needed to do to correct this injustice. My first
thought was, I am going to hang out and when that parent shows up, I will let
Grayquill do his Jujitsu barn dance. The main problem with that is, Grayquill doesn’t know Jujitsu. Rational
thought prevailed and the next morning my first phone call was to the vice
principal. As I explained the reason for
my call, I was encouraged to hear her shocked disdain for the plight of the
young lady. The principal patiently listened to my passionate venting and
assured me she would get to the bottom of this! She quizzed me with several
questions and then she asked me, “Grayquill, where exactly does this young lady
stand.”
“She is always in the same place, right on the right hand
side in the entry way.”
There was a long pause, “Grayquill, that is a manikin.”
“Uhhh…what? Huh?” confusion….Grayquill could hear a large
volume of laughter coming back through the telephone. I hung up. My foolishness scored my pride but
then I began to laugh. You gotta admit that’s funny.
That night when I headed home I nodded to my favorite
manikin knowing she was well protected under Grayquill’s watchful eye.
