The Crossing Guard on Maple Street

For eleven years, Dorothy Chen stood at the corner of Maple and Third in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, guiding children safely across the street. She knew every child by name. She asked about their spelling tests, remembered their birthdays, slipped encouraging notes into their coat pockets on hard days. When a first-grader's father walked out, Dorothy was the one who knelt down, looked that boy in the eye, and said, "You are not forgotten."…