“Missing all of you” shouted Tammy Cartwright. “Y’all have a wonderful day.”
Mrs. Tammy, as the school crossing guard is known to students at Lakeland Elementary School (LES), decided on an impromptu parade through two Lakeland neighborhoods Sunday afternoon (3.29.20) in her Rhino Gray Jeep Wrangler, waving a gigantic American flag through the open roof.
She wanted to do something to boost the spirits of the children she routinely sees at school but who are now “Safer at Home” because of COVID-19 and school closures. She said she misses her students.
It was a magnificent spring afternoon, sunny with a bit of breeze and temps in the low 70s. It was just the right day for a spontaneous parade through Oakwood and Herons Ridge neighborhoods in Lakeland. And children and parents flocked to their front yards to see their favorite school crossing guard.
With her husband Joe Cartwright in the driver’s seat and her mother Vivian Williams and son Jacob Cartwright in the back seat, Mrs. Cartwright stood through the open roof and shouted to students, maintaining social distancing.
“What have y’all been doing?” she asked. “Hope it won’t be too long. Y’all hang in there.”
At the John and Mandy Keating home in Oakwood, she was greeted with a giant homemade sign in the front yard: “We Miss U Ms Tammy, Love, Thomas (an LES student) and Chloe” (a student at Lakeland Middle Preparatory School).
Link to Google album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rBQjuLt2kgQrzCRd7
Mrs. Cartwright and her family live on six-acres in North Lakeland on what she calls “Tammy’s Little Farm” with exotic and not so exotic animals. She said she now has baby goats and chickens.
The parade was led by Brent Cower of Oakwood in his golf cart, along with his children Thomas and Jack. Also hitching a ride on the golf cart were Reese Borden, Stormi Boles and Ava Brennan. Joining was Baylor Roman on her scooter. Other children joined the parade before the family headed to Herons Ridge.
In addition to directing traffic and students at LES, Mrs. Cartwright also serves as a crossing guard at the middle school.
Mrs. Cartwright said she will consider parading and waving through other Lakeland neighborhoods in coming weeks.
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
