Incapable of getting right down work this morning, I walked across the street to the elementary school that is 50 feet from my house and finally introduced myself to the man who takes care of the grounds and who always waves to me when I see him.
His name is Martín. Recently, SEIU local unions were on strike in Sacramento (and everywhere) over basic needs like compensation, health coverage, and working conditions. I see Martín every morning at 6am and wonder why we don’t value his work.
Continuing my walk, I watch students on the playground, keeping an eye out for the little one who I can hear from my living room playing the age-old classic, “Who Can Scream the Loudest?”, and today, I don’t blame that kid. We could all use a primal scream.
I try not to think about the way parents felt dropping their kids at school today. There’s one father who screeches into drop-off all the time just at the bell, and, as his kid shuffles in with a backpack 3x their size, that dad points out the window and shouts, “I LOVE YOU, BABY, HAVE A GREAT DAY!” over and over until his kid gets inside. I hope he keeps doing that all through middle and high school, because that guy knows what’s at stake every day in America when we lack the political will to do anything about gun violence.
On my way around the park nearby, I say hello to neighbors I might have ignored when my earbuds are in, or on a call, or frankly just having an introvert day. I wonder if they’re feeling the way I do today, seeking to understand the complete intransigence of our leaders in the face of unrelenting evidence.
Returning home, I can see the front door of the school wide open, in contrast to the push for more security, single-entry, metal detectors, and arming teachers. My sister has been an elementary music teacher in Arizona for 10+ years now. The only thing she needs to be armed with is proper compensation, a pension, the freedom to tell her students about her queer sister, and the resources to share the transformative power of music with them.
I write a note to the principal at the school, offering to be part of a safety plan, if helpful, because if Uvalde or Buffalo or Sandy Hook or {insert shooting of the week}…. happened here, I would want to know that I did something to keep our kids safe. And then, looking up at the walls of the school, I see a new mural that conveys this better than any words I could find…
Tahoe Park Elementary / Wide Open Walls - Max Sansing 2022