Making A Difference

                Another American is in the news for seeing a problem and providing a solution; he is one person making a difference to many other people without waiting to be asked or hired.  He saw a need and filled it.

                Last year retired Marine Corporal Lewis Alston drove past Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and saw children trying to cross the road and traffic not stopping for them.  He saw a child trying to cross between two moving vehicles and knew someone needed to do something about it.  He looked for a crossing guard but saw none.

                On the first day of this school year Alston was on his way home from a funeral service and was still wearing his dress uniform.  He noticed that there was still no crossing guard at a busy intersection.  He gave the job to himself and is at the intersection in his fancy blues every morning and every afternoon making sure the children are able to cross the street safely. 

                The police chief refuses to stop Alston from being the crossing guard at a busy intersection, knowing there are many other dangerous intersections in the city.  Alston is recruiting other veterans to help children cross other busy streets.  This decorated Vietnam veteran is just one person making a difference in his own sphere of influence.