In the humid roads of Victoria, anyone working as a traffic flagger and guide is going to get bored and tired really quickly. It can get up to 30 degrees celsius, and having to signal to every vehicle on the road is pretty physically-demanding work.
Iona Strachen and Monique Hurley encountered one such traffic flagger on a drive, and it was clear right from the get-go that he needed to relieve some of his boredom and stress. The guy was dancing like no one was watching.
But of course, a lot of people were watching. He was in the middle of a road after all, with cars passing by every second. What were they going to do about it, though? Pull up next to him and tell him to stop dancing? It’s his traffic post, he can do what he wants if you ask me.
“The guy” is 17-year-old Victoria teenager Daniel Odgers-Stedman.
Now I don’t know how traffic-related jobs work, but one thing I can guess about is that there isn’t a boss or a supervisor monitoring you. I’m going to take another guess and presume that you can’t exactly fire someone for this either. Which is nothing but great!
With his age in mind, it’s very clear why he’s so chill and carefree. He’s what the internet has termed a “Zoomer”, a person born in the late 90s. The term is lifted from the synonymous, but more popular term, “Gen Z”.
If there’s one thing about Gen Z kids that everyone knows, it’s that we rely on memes and self-entertainment to deal with the tense, sociopolitical climate, and culture of the 21st century.
Housing is through the roof (no pun intended!), climate change is a real issue, most of us can’t get jobs, and now there’s a pandemic to top things off too. Honestly, I could use a bit of dancing to relieve some of my pent up negativity too.
So if you see your kid smiling at their phones, it doesn’t mean they’re texting someone they like. They could just be watching Daniel breaking it down on the street.
Dare I say it…..he’s just vibin’
Maybe he’s spreading positive vibes to any would-be drivers who need it. There’s no telling what the people you pass by are going through. Iona and Monique definitely benefited from it. So much so that they actually got out of their cars and joined him.
“I thought, ‘Man, I must look like an idiot to everyone right?’ And I just didn’t really care and I thought it was quite funny, especially with the laughter that came out in that video with them, it’s what makes me want to keep dancing, keep making everyone smile.”
Iona filmed the righteous lad and uploaded it to Facebook. It’s garnered a few million views now, and Daniel himself commented on the video having virtually reunited with Iona and Monique.
He never drops the stop sign either.
Though he does spin it in the air and catches it. I don’t know what he drank this morning but I want some of it
Maybe its employer’s policy to never let drop or lose the stop sign. Or maybe he’ll swing it at irresponsible drivers who violate traffic laws, like Victoria’s very own DIO. I joke, of course.
Iona comments on how the rest of their interaction with Daniel went.
“We pulled up to him dancing and we kind of made a connection and we were dancing with him for about 20 minutes.”
Now people from all over Canada are viewing and enjoying Daniel’s street dancing. With every person carrying a smartphone with social media nowadays, stuff like this is just waiting to be captured and uploaded to the internet. For the average person, it’s really only a matter of how confident of a dancer you are.
Let’s all show some appreciation for Daniel. Braving traffic, the heat, and some gnarly mosquitoes just to put a smile on all our faces.
With a click of the play button, you can watch Daniel breaking it down on the roads below!
https://www.facebook.com/ionastrachan/posts/10158347855585801
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