One of the more interesting jobs I had as a young man was a flag man with a road crew. This job was a longing, well-traveled main road with a speed limit of about 45 or 50 mph. The crew was putting in in large pipe about eight feet underneath the road surface.

It was a summer job, and it was hot outside. Sometimes I felt like my shoes were on fire on the hot pavement. It was also the kind of job where you really couldn’t take breaks throughout the day very well. You keep traffic moving, pay attention to ensure the road workers are safe and do your best to keep a good attitude.

OK, here’s one of the realities of the job: some people smile and wave at you, and some try to hit you. I’m not kidding. Some people try to make a game of it to see how close they can get to the flag man. This is how one fellow put it, “Some days you are the hydrant, some days you are the dog.” More than once, I had to jump into the hole to avoid being hit by a car.