Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Naming A Building After Someone Great

It isn't easy to get a unanimous opinion on pretty much anything in the internet age.

Imagine a school board in today's political climate voting on anything unanimously!

Well it happened in Missouri.  Swedeborg, to be exact.

The local elementary school needed to name a new building and their choice was a unique and unanimous one.  They named the building after the school's about to retire janitor of 30 years, Claudene Wilson.

You read that right.  Not a war hero or politician, not a sports legend or civil rights activist, a janitor.

This lady has, for 30 years, cleaned up the school and taken on just about everything else that needed doing and in the process become a fixture in the lives of generations of children.  Her care and dedication have endeared her to students and faculty alike and in a touching gesture, they put her name up on the side of the damned building.  Where it belongs.

While you might think it an odd choice at first blush, if you watch the interview embedded in this article (sorry, I couldn't get twitter and blogger to play nice) you'll understand that this was exactly the right choice. 

The work done by "everyday" people is what keeps our lives running.  Without school janitors, garbage collectors, construction workers, couriers, warehouse staff, grocery store cashiers, customer service folks and countless other men and women working "regular" jobs, there are no celebrities, no sports heroes, no media moguls or business tycoons to get their names and likenesses slapped on everything from sneakers to rockets.  

It's nice to see a "regular" life get some love and attention for a change.  It's extraordinary, actually.

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