LOS ANGELES – Each time students use the crosswalk Carl McCorkle has been there to guide them to the other side.

“See you mañana,” he tells students as they walk across the street after finishing their first day of school.

McCorkle still remembers his first day, on Wednesday March 3, 1976.

He said he always gets reactions of disbelief, “They say, I don’t believe that McCorkle, I said ‘Well, it’s true you know I’m still trying to look 40 but it’s still a true fact, forty years.’”

While McCorkle did say a lot has changed over the years, he wouldn’t reveal exactly how old he was when he started. But he did say that he loves his job and helping kids get to and from school safely is his passion.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go” McCorkle says as he gets children across the street.

Along the way he gets to know thousands of children and their parents.

He tells one mother “Look she’s here! How old is the baby?” McCorkle remembers her from the end of last summer while she was still pregnant.

But it isn’t always easy, in fact, while the camera was rolling an ice cream truck rolled right through the intersection.

“This stop sign is not the breaks on the vehicle and I’m aware of that,” said McCorkle. “I’m nervous each time I cross a child, it’s just a dangerous job.”

Parents said they are grateful for him. Jamie Garza has two children who attend a nearby school, a 10-year old son and a daughter who is 7.

“Sometimes there are some crazy drivers out there, they’ll just zoom on by but they’ll see a crossing guard, they already know, ok, I gotta stop,” says Garza.

These McCorkle Carl doesn’t just help kids cross, he also trains future crossing guards.

“I’m going to leave one day but when, I don’t know, I have a great Sergeant, and great coworkers and still have great memories with the city,” said McCorkle.

McCorkle adds that he still has a lot of work to do, making sure cars stop so children can get to school safely.