ThingsPondered

Tonight I met an angel.  Correction: I already knew him, but tonight he revealed to me the angel he is.   I accidentally learned that he is much more than one of us grunts showing up at work to get the paycheck.  

I do ancillary work in a public elementary school.  I’m there in the wee hours of the morning and again in the evening.  With these hours, I’ve gotten to know many of the behind-the-scenes staff.  Don is the head custodian.  Maybe in other parts they call such folks janitors or maintenance people.  Anyway, he’s one of the guys who gets all the fun toys to work with: that big wringer bucket on wheels, floor buffers, moving dolleys, and the keys to every single room.

While I was cleaning up my area, Don was taking a quick break, chatting with other custodians within earshot of my room.  They were talking about work schedules and he brought up that he had off on Friday but that he might come in for a few minutes.  Why?  Why in the world? It seems that there is a boy in first grade who has developed quite a bond with him. Don and the child’s teacher have worked out an arrangement in which Jake gets to shadow Don for five or ten minutes every day.  On one particular day when Don was at work but coming down with one of the nasty germs that go around every winter, the teacher suggested that Jake pass on the helping because Mr. Don was not feeling well.  As Don put it, Jake’s whole self just sort of deflated.

It seems that Jake doesn’t have a father.  At all.  Nada.  Never – as far as the mother is concerned.  So, little Jake doesn’t have dad’s name, doesn’t have a pre-divorce memory, or even an entire paternal side of the family.  While Don isn’t trying to overstep his role, he sees how important it is for this little tyke to have a positive, caring adult male in his life.  And THAT is why he is going to pop in for ten minutes on his day off.  Not for overtime pay, not for glory and honor.  Just for little Jake.  He’s an angel.