Anna Jordan couldn”t help but smile as she stood at the corner of North Montgomery Street and Greenfield Drive Friday and watched the afternoon traffic.
With each passing vehicle, Jordan raised her right hand and waved enthusiastically, a smile planted firmly on her face. Many of the passing motorists waved back.
“Some of them don”t wave back, but I keep on,” Jordan said with a grin. “They will. They will.”
Jordan, 55, is a security officer for Capital Security and is assigned to nearby Sudduth Elementary School. Throughout much of the day, Jordan helps keep the building secure.
Every morning and afternoon, however, Jordan mans the corner of North Montgomery Street and Greenfield Drive, where she directs traffic, helps students cross the road and greets passing vehicles with her signature wave and a smile.
“Everybody wants a wave in the morning, so I speak to them. And I speak to them in the afternoon. I enjoy it,” she said. “Good group of kids. Good group of babies.”
Do you actually work security in the school here?
Yes, sir. I monitor inside. It”s a good sign to see the babies. It”s a blessed thing. I enjoy it. I really do. I enjoy meeting the teachers, the principal. I”ll stack the busses in the afternoon.
So how long have you been in the security business?
Going on two years.
What did you do before that?
Working in the old folks” home, taking care of the elderly. I enjoyed doing that until I hurt my back in 1979, so I came out of that environment. Then I started helping the handicapped at Rolling Hills. The older I got, the weaker the back got, so I changed jobs. I was working over in West Point, at Navistar, but then they moved me over here to the high school. I enjoy being a security officer. I really do.
What are some of the difficult parts of the job?
Nothing. I”m my own boss down here at this end. I work this end during the morning and the afternoon. So my other security on the back side works carpool. We enjoy it.
Do you find yourself growing attached to these kids or is this just a job?
I”ve done grown attached to them. Just like I said, I enjoy seeing the babies. Some are so short and tiny, you just stand back and look and think, ”Hey, I was that small once.”
What”s the most exciting thing that has happened so far this school year?
Just working with the babies and the teachers and the principal, and speaking to the public.
Outside of work, what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies or anything?
I”m a 55-year-old security office and when I leave work, I”m serious, it”s home, bath, bed. No more energy that day.
What do you do to stay upbeat? You seem pretty like a pretty upbeat person just from driving by you every day and talking with you now. Where does that come from?
Oh, I”ve been this way all my life. I”ve tried to be a very good citizen. Like I said, I love people. I love being around people, when I”m not tired.
What is it like seeing a new generation of kids coming through the same school system you went through?
How would I put that? It”s amazing because, like I said, once I was that age. I can”t look back and see me, but when I see these babies, I think ”I was that small once.”
Do you have children yourself?
I have two. They are grown. I have a son who is 36 and a daughter who is 35. I have a granddaughter here at Sudduth. She”s in second grade.
It must be nice seeing her.
Oh yeah. All the time. I tell the teachers, ”If you”ve got problems, you don”t have to call mama. I”m mama.”
How is it working outside every day?
Oh, it got hot, but God took care of me. And when it gets cold, I”m used to the winter. I was in it last year. My mama always told me you can put on enough clothes to keep warm, but you can”t take off enough to keep cool. I just thank God that I am a security officer. I always wanted to be a policeman, but not security. I just didn”t know what was what. Now this is what I”m doing and I enjoy it. Every Friday when the kids come out, I say “Have a good weekend.” It”s what I do.
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