I remember walking to and from school every day when I was in elementary school. My siblings and I would set out on our 20-minute walk with a handful of other kids on the street, and we’d have a great time on our way there. We would talk about everything under the sun, and we’d be at school before you knew it.
Since we walked every single day, our parents trusted that we’d follow the rules of being on the streets alone, without any adult supervision. We would have to look both ways before crossing the road, stick around our older sister and not drift away too far ahead, and make sure we don’t talk to any strangers. The latter was the most important.
I’m sure the kids in the video below have similar rules to ensure their safety. But, in their case, the last rule can be bent a little bit. Why? Because there’s a stranger on the street that’s not like most strangers that parents want their kids to stay away from.
Audrey is in middle school and her mom Gina drops her off at a specific corner of the street for her to walk the rest of the way to school. One day, Gina didn’t drop her off at that corner and Audrey was upset. Why? Because she wanted to meet the “cute little old man” before she started the day. Something like this is obviously going to raise a concern for any parent. Who is this man, and why is he meeting with kids on the street?
Gina wanted to get to the bottom of this, so she drove Audrey to the precise place she was talking about, and there she was introduced to 94-year-old Wally Richardson, also known as Mr. Knuckles. Wally is a U.S. Navy veteran, and it turns out that he is well-known to the students at Marina Village Middle School; it was the students who gave him his nickname of Mr. Knuckles.
Wally has an amazing routine that he’s been practicing for a while. He wakes up each morning, gets dressed and has breakfast, and heads over to the school to give inspirational sayings and speeches to the students. He wants to spread positivity and kindness, and also wants to keep these students on the right path. So, what better to do it than to motivate them to stay positive, happy, and in school, right?
The video below shows Wally motivating the students as they walk by, he ends all his pep talks with fist bumps and handshakes. You don’t want to miss out on one of the best motivational talks you’ll ever see! So, click below!
