A sign of the times?

Coming home from a trip to Modesto the other day...

My daughter driving (of course), we were driving past an elementary school.
I noticed several of the children, or groups of children had adult males walking with them.

Cool ! I thought to myself. All these guys are walking their kids home from school !
Being a single Dad, I am sensitive to father/child stuff and like seeing the relationship between fathers and children being cultivated in positive ways.
Great~! All these Dads out here meeting their kids getting out of school and walking them home.

Then I had to wonder, Do all of these guys work a swing or night shift that allows them such a wonderful luxury? Crap, maybe they are laid off or furloughed or some other corporate treachery that has them out on such a fantastic afternoon. (The weather this day was great!)
Maybe the neighborhood thugs, or traffic's disregard for pedestrian safety necessitated their presence.

Crap. I'll try to ignore the pessimist in me that thought anything past "Cool ! All these guys are walking their kids home from school ! " and just stay with that...happy thoughts.