I knew it would take me longer to get there but I really didn’t mind. The streets around my house would be lined with cars either moving at the posted 25 MPH speed limit, or not at all. But that was okay.

I knew Miss Shirley would be there at the crosswalk, the cheery octogenarian who last year tripped at a shopping mall and knocked out her front teeth. We didn’t see her for many months but every day the school children would ask, “How’s Miss Shirley?”

Today was the first day of school. Everyone’s priorities seemed to have shifted, seemingly without intention. No one would be racing off to work, but that was okay.

Big yellow school buses stopped at the corner as kids piled in. Traffic backed up on both sides of the street, but no one seemed to mind.

No, THIS morning had a higher priority. This morning was about keeping our kids safe on the first day of school.

That’s why we were driving slower. That’s why Miss Shirley woke up early and drove half way across town to help the school children through the crosswalk.

“Unity is only possible when there is a shared cause. Ironically, the only way people see past their differences is if they care more about something else, together.”

Brian Sanders

Hopefully that’s what your radio station is about, and most certainly can be about, in the next 78 days leading up to election day.

But only if we take a lesson from Miss Shirley, and help our listeners see past their differences and care more about something else.

Together.