SHERMANSDALE, Pa (WHTM) — Most people don’t smile at the sight of road work and traffic jams but one traffic flagger in Shermansdale, Perry County is hoping to change that.
Larry McMillan is trying to put a smile on everyone who drives by him.
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“Some people, I watch them when they ride up to me and they may be mad because we held them up in traffic, but when they get up and see me dancing or smiling, their whole demeanor changes and that’s what makes me want to do it more,” said Larry McMillan, a traffic flagger at Opportunity Construction.
With an infectious laugh and dancing along to his beat, he caught the eye of Donna Rowe.
“There’s always a bright light somewhere, you just have to look for it and today it’s Larry,” said Donna Rowe of Duncannon.
But Lary has his dark days too. Over the past 18 months, he’s lost people close to him.
“Sometimes it gets overwhelming but you can’t let that defeat you,” said McMillan.
He knows other people are fighting their own battles, too.
“Instead of fighting negativity with negativity, I smile at them, I wave at them,” said McMillan. “I wave at people giving me the finger, calling me names, I smile.”
With an inviting wave, the few seconds it takes to pass Larry is a chance for him to make someone’s day.
“That makes my day, knowing I can make somebody else’s day,” said McMillan.
