http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2015/01/31/detroit-commuting-troy-rochester-hills-smart-ddot-ubs-banker-woodward-buses-transit/22660785/

Heart and sole: Detroiter walks 21 miles in work commute

Detroit resident James Robertson, 56, of Detroit talks about his journey walking 21 miles a day to work and back. Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press

By Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press 7:07 p.m. EST February 1, 2015
He doesn't look athletic but James Robertson, 56, of Detroit has a champ's commute. He rides buses part-way but walks about 21 miles in round trips to a factory, unless his banker pal offers a lift.

Leaving home in Detroit at 8 a.m., James Robertson doesn't look like an endurance athlete.

Pudgy of form, shod in heavy work boots, Robertson trudges almost haltingly as he starts another workday.

But as he steps out into the cold, Robertson, 56, is steeled for an Olympic-sized commute. Getting to and from his factory job 23 miles away in Rochester Hills, he'll take a bus partway there and partway home. And he'll also walk an astounding 21 miles.

Five days a week. Monday through Friday.

It's the life Robertson has led for the last decade, ever since his 1988 Honda Accord quit on him.

Every trip is an ordeal of mental and physical toughness for this soft-spoken man with a perfect attendance record at work. And every day is a tribute to how much he cares about his job, his boss and his coworkers. Robertson's daunting walks and bus rides, in all kinds of weather, also reflect the challenges some metro Detroiters face in getting to work in a region of limited bus service, and where car ownership is priced beyond the reach of many.

But you won't hear Robertson complain — nor his boss.

"I set our attendance standard by this man," says Todd Wilson, plant manager at Schain Mold & Engineering. "I say, if this man can get here, walking all those miles through snow and rain, well I'll tell you, I have people in Pontiac 10 minutes away and they say they can't get here — bull!"

As he speaks of his loyal employee, Wilson leans over his desk for emphasis, in a sparse office with a view of the factory floor. Before starting his shift, Robertson stops by the office every day to talk sports, usually baseball. And during dinnertime each day, Wilson treats him to fine Southern cooking, compliments of the plant manager's wife.


"Oh, yes, she takes care of James. And he's a personal favorite of the owners because of his attendance record. He's never missed. I've seen him come in here wringing wet," says Wilson, 53, of Metamora Township.

With a full-time job and marathon commutes, Robertson is clearly sleep deprived, but powers himself by downing 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew and cans of Coke.

"I sleep a lot on the weekend, yes I do," he says, sounding a little amazed at his schedule. He also catches zzz's on his bus rides. Whatever it takes to get to his job, Robertson does it.

"I can't imagine not working," he says.

'Lord, keep me safe'

The sheer time and effort of getting to work has ruled Robertson's life for more than a decade, ever since his car broke down. He didn't replace it because, he says, "I haven't had a chance to save for it." His job pays $10.55 an hour, well above Michigan's minimum wage of $8.15 an hour but not enough for him to buy, maintain and insure a car in Detroit.

As hard as Robertson's morning commute is, the trip home is even harder.

At the end of his 2-10 p.m. shift as an injection molder at Schain Mold's squeaky-clean factory just south of M-59, and when his coworkers are climbing into their cars, Robertson sets off, on foot — in the dark — for the 23-mile trip to his home off Woodward near Holbrook. None of his coworkers lives anywhere near him, so catching a ride almost never happens.

Instead, he reverses the 7-mile walk he took earlier that day, a stretch between the factory and a bus stop behind Troy's Somerset Collection shopping mall.

"I keep a rhythm in my head," he says of his seemingly mechanical-like pace to the mall.

At Somerset, he catches the last SMART bus of the day, just before 1 a.m. He rides it into Detroit as far it goes, getting off at the State Fairgrounds on Woodward, just south of 8 Mile. By that time, the last inbound Woodward bus has left. So Robertson foots it the rest of the way — about 5 miles — in the cold or rain or the mild summer nights, to the home he shares with his girlfriend.

The daily route of "the incredible commuter" JamesBuy Photo
The daily route of "the incredible commuter" James Robertson, 56, of Detroit. (Photo: Detroit Free Press)
"I have to go through Highland Park, and you never know what you're going to run into," Robertson says. "It's pretty dangerous. Really, it is (dangerous) from 8 Mile on down. They're not the type of people you want to run into.

"But I've never had any trouble," he says. Actually, he did get mugged several years ago — "some punks tuned him up pretty good," says Wilson, the plant manager. Robertson chooses not to talk about that.

So, what gets him past dangerous streets, and through the cold and gloom of night and winter winds?

"One word — faith," Robertson says. "I'm not saying I'm a member of some church. But just before I get home, every night, I say, 'Lord, keep me safe.' "

The next day, Robertson adds, "I should've told you there's another thing: determination."

A land of no buses

Robertson's 23-mile commute from home takes four hours. It's so time-consuming because he must traverse the no-bus land of rolling Rochester Hills. It's one of scores of tri-county communities (nearly 40 in Oakland County alone) where voters opted not to pay the SMART transit millage. So it has no fixed-route bus service.

Once he gets to Troy and Detroit, Robertson is back in bus country. But even there, the bus schedules are thin in a region that is relentlessly auto-centric.

"The last five years been really tough because the buses cut back," Robertson says. Both SMART and DDOT have curtailed service over the last half decade, "and with SMART, it really affected service into Detroit," said Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United.

Detroit's director of transportation said there is a service Robertson may be able to use that's designed to help low-income workers. Job Access and Reverse Commute, paid for in part with federal dollars, provides door-to-door transportation to low-income workers, but at a cost. Robertson said he was not aware of the program.

Still, metro Detroit's lack of accessible mass transit hasn't stopped Robertson from hoofing it along sidewalks — often snow-covered — to get to a job.

At home at work

Robertson is proud of all the miles he covers each day. But it's taking a toll, and he's not getting any younger.

"He comes in here looking real tired — his legs, his knees," says coworker Janet Vallardo, 59, of Auburn Hills.

But there's a lot more than a paycheck luring him to make his weekday treks. Robertson looks forward to being around his coworkers, saying, "We're like a family." He also looks forward to the homemade dinners the plant manager's wife whips up for him each day.

"I look at her food, I always say, 'Excellent. No, not excellent. Phenomenal,' " he says, with Wilson sitting across from him, nodding and smiling with affirmation.

Although Robertson eats in a factory lunchroom, his menus sound like something from a Southern café: Turnip greens with smoked pork neck bones, black-eyed peas and carrots in a brown sugar glaze, baby-back ribs, cornbread made from scratch, pinto beans, fried taters, cheesy biscuits. They're the kind of meal that can fuel his daunting commutes back home.

Though his job is clearly part of his social life, when it's time to work this graduate of Northern High School is methodical. He runs an injection-molding machine the size of a small garage, carefully slicing and drilling away waste after removing each finished part, and noting his production in detail on a clipboard.

Strangers crossing paths

Robertson has walked the walk so often that drivers wonder: Who is that guy? UBS banker Blake Pollock, 47, of Rochester, wondered. About a year ago, he found out.

Pollock tools up and down Crooks each day in his shiny black 2014 Chrysler 300.

"I saw him so many times, climbing through snow banks. I saw him at all different places on Crooks," Pollock recalls.

Last year, Pollock had just parked at his office space in Troy as Robertson passed. The banker in a suit couldn't keep from asking the factory guy in sweats, what the heck are you doing, walking out here every day? They talked a bit. Robertson walked off and Pollock ruminated.

From then on, Pollock began watching for the factory guy. At first, he'd pick him up occasionally, when he could swing the time. But the generosity became more frequent as winter swept in. Lately, it's several times a week, especially when metro Detroit sees single-digit temperatures and windchills.

"Knowing what I know, I can't drive past him now. I'm in my car with the heat blasting and even then my feet are cold," Pollock says.

Other times, it's 10:30 or 11 p.m., even after midnight, when Pollock, who is divorced, is sitting at home alone or rolling home from a night out, and wondering how the man he knows only as "James" is doing in the frigid darkness.

On those nights, Pollock runs Robertson all the way to his house in Detroit.

"I asked him, why don't you move closer" to work. "He said his girlfriend inherited their house so it's easy to stay there," Pollock said.

On a recent night run, Pollock got his passenger home at 11 p.m. They sat together in the car for a minute, outside Robertson's house.

"So, normally you'd be getting here at 4 o'clock (in the morning), right?" the banker asks. "Yeah," Robertson replies. Pollock flashes a wry smile. "So, you're pretty early, aren't you?" he says. Robertson catches the drift.

"Oh, I'm grateful for the time, believe me," Robertson says, then adds in a voice rising with anticipation: "I'm going to take me a bath!"

After the door shuts and Pollock pulls away, he admits that Robertson mystifies him, yet leaves him stunned with admiration for the man's uncanny work ethic and determination.

"I always say to my friends, I'm not a nice guy. But I find myself helping James," Pollock says with a sheepish laugh. He said he's picked up Robertson several dozen times this winter alone.

Has a routine

At the plant, coworkers feel odd seeing one of their team numbers always walking, says Charlie Hollis, 63, of Pontiac. "I keep telling him to get him a nice little car," says Hollis, also a machine operator.

Echoes the plant manager Wilson, "We are very much trying to get James a vehicle." But Robertson has a routine now, and he seems to like it, his coworkers say.

"If I can get away, I'll pick him up. But James won't get in just anybody's car. He likes his independence," Wilson says.

Robertson has simple words for why he is what he is, and does what he does. He speaks with pride of his parents, including his father's military service.

"I just get it from my family. It's a lot of walking, I know."

*shrugs*

and i could ride a train to work.

but reading this story i don't feel an ounce of guilt. and i'm puzzled by that guy. not inspired...just puzzled.

.

Case in point we have a 2002 and 1998 certified hoopties in the rest of the countries eyes..

Basic coverage (no collision/no comprehensive) costs us 415 per month (I rounded).

You think a person making 10.55 per can save $5000 a year because most companies require a down payment of 40% on a policy.

So please show me the math.
*****************************************
huh

your insurance is for 2 cars. his doesn't need two cars.

*****************************************
huh

i dunno the full details of homie's situation but i know ppl in similar situations who own cars and make it work.

so i don't get it.

still it's a great story for advocating for more public transportation in the Detroit Metro Area and especially the suburbs.

Like many people in the D
*****************************************
huh

for sure.

still - i don't like this guy's story b/c i don't understand why he hasn't found work elsewhere in the 10 yrs since his last car died. b/c that's what i'd have done, i think.

I can see if he was out in Phoenix where the electricity can hit $500-$800/month in the summer but that ain't the case here.

10.55/hr for 40hrs a week w/no rent/mortgage means he's got some money left over after basic needs. Shit I bought several cars making $4.25/hr back inna day in Detroit. I know there's at least a few A to B cars on Craigslist or something. Dude just ain't trying hard enough.


---------------------------

forcing myself to actually respond to you is like bathing in ebola virus. - Binlahab

Like there is stupid, and then there is you, and then there is dead. - VAsBestBBW

R.I.P. Disco D

They finally realized they had a monopoly in this MF


We aint gonna even speak on the water situation..
*****************************************
huh

>Case in point we have a 2002 and 1998 certified hoopties in
>the rest of the countries eyes..
>
>Basic coverage (no collision/no comprehensive) costs us 415
>per month (I rounded).
>
>You think a person making 10.55 per can save $5000 a year
>because most companies require a down payment of 40% on a
>policy.
>
>So please show me the math.
>*****************************************
>huh



If you had a 1998 Ford Taurus and 2002 Pontiac Grand Am would your insurance still be $5000 per year? Those cars aren't even worth $5000

I'm in Dallas and me and my husband don't even pay $100 per month for a 2006 Camry and 1999 Nissan pickup truck

I know it's Detroit but how is insurance worth more than the car?

Michigan has no fault insurance requirements, and a catastrophic claims requirement for all insurance policies. It makes car insurance in Michigan, especially in Detroit, unreasonably expensive.

When I lived in California, I had a 2002 Nissan Altima I paid about $800/6 months. I moved back home to Michigan and that cost doubled. And that was the cheapest quote I could get for the level of insurance I wanted. Some companies quoted $2200/6 months.

The car insurance industry in Michigan is a racket.

I just happen to live in 48234

The first thing is that the people did something wrong not that the insurance companies in Michigan are corrupt.



But youre in Texas so you wouldn't get it LOL

SMH
*****************************************
huh

More than doubled even. For no other reason than my zip code changed. No accidents or incidents, just moving to a uhmmm we'll call it more "urban" (black) area.

*****************************************
huh

if he's making more than minimum wage he should be able to get some kind of hoopty. If he is making minimum wage if he spent the 8 hours he spends walking to work WORKING minimum wage, somewhere close by he'd have enough to buy a car. i'm not sure i buy this story.

and i know car insurance ain't cheap but, still.

i feel like something is missing. but maybe it's not. still...i can't understand why in all of this time homie hasn't gotten another job. i know times are hard for blue collar workers like him who only have a high school education...but this has gone on for long enough that if he were diligent he should've been able to find another job by now. maybe not another manufacturing job but some job somewhere nearer to him that pays in the range he's being paid now.

nothing about that job seems so attractive that i'd put up with what he puts up with to get there. yeah the ppl may be nice but there are nice coworkers at other jobs too.

he should have a little leftover for a car. *shrug*

i'm glad he got one. but, he could apply for $8/hr ANYWHERE in his neighborhood, give his refernces saying that he's had perfect attendance for 10 years and ANYONE would hire him.

Minium wage - 10/hr employees that show up and are reliable are like unicorns.

that's the part of this story that's missing for me - i want to know if he considered and/or made any effort to get another job. b/c in 10 yrs i'd think he could find another one if he tried. especially w/his attendance record as you pointed out.

benefits and possibly even a pension, a lot of people are not really trying to start all over in their 50's.

People just don't get that. I have no doubt there's no jobs available for him to even apply to. Plus he's in his 50s? Yeah, it ain't that easy.

i kept waiting for that part to appear in the article. it's a pretty obvious question raised by this guy's story.

could get two $8 an hour jobs and still have more time and money.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2015/02/01/james-roberston-detroiter-commute-fundraiser/22701087/

Detroiter's daily trek inspires hundreds to donate


By Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press 8:33 a.m. EST February 2, 2015
$31K-plus raised for man, 56, who walks 21 miles in commute

A story about a Detroit man who commutes about 21 miles a day on foot to and from work has spurred reaction from across the nation, including social media fundraisers that have netted more than $44,000.

Because buses don't cover the full distance between James Robertson's home in Detroit and his job in Rochester Hills, he walks about eight miles headed to work and about 13 miles home, five days a week. His story — told by Bill Laitner in Sunday's Detroit Free Press — has inspired hundreds to offer money to buy him a car, pay his insurance and to provide professional help in managing the donations.

Robertson said Sunday he was flattered by the attention he'd gotten for his arduous commutes after the Free Press published a front-page story about him -- and amazed that complete strangers would respond so generously, some by offering to buy him a new car and others offering to give him one.

"Are you serious?" he said to a reporter after hearing of one crowd-funding effort alone that, by early Sunday night, had raised $30,000 — $25,000 more than the goal of the originator, a Wayne State University student.

Evan Leedy, 19, of Macomb Township, a WSU student studying computer science, said he was struck by the article and by the sudden torrent of people commenting online, many of them asking how they could help Robertson. Leedy said he decided to act.

"I just used my phone. I created the go-funding site and within an hour we had $2,000," he said.

"I set the goal at the beginning of $5,000. Right now my page has more than $30,000" as of 6 p.m. Sunday, Leedy said.

Two other people created GoFundMe sites, "so I contacted them so we could coordinate this, and they've raised $3,000," he added.

Leedy said he wanted to take steps that would ensure that the money goes directly to Robertson and that publicity about it doesn't put him at risk of being pressured to share it.

"And I think some of it should be set aside for his insurance and gas and maintenance," Leedy said.

A Downriver car dealership offered to give him a 2014 Chevrolet Cruz or Sonic. "He gets to choose," said Angela Osborne, customer service specialist at Rodgers Chevrolet in Woodhaven.

"We were just impressed with his determination," Osborne said.

Sales manager Darwin Filey said he read about Robertson after a fellow Facebook friend shared the story with him.

"When I saw the story I said 'wow.' Some people said you guys have got to do something. Then I called my owner and she read the story and said put something together," Filey said.

He said Robertson would have to pay the tax on the car, which would be about $900.

"We've never done anything like this at all," Filey said. "We've given to various causes but nothing at this magnitude," said Filey, who has been with the dealership for 2 1/2 years.

More than a hundred others offered cash for a car, or their own cars, as well as bus tickets, bicycles and even daily chauffeur service for Robertson.

"Monday is gonna be some bad weather and I don't want him making that trek," said Stuart Sutherland, a student at Oakland University who offered to donate cash in an email.

Joe Coppola, a technical recruiter for Optomi, wrote: "I want to give him my 2004 Chevy Cavalier. It runs well and is certainly better than not having a car."

Honda North America, and David Fischer – owner of the Suburban Collection – offered "to keep Mr. Robertson in the Honda family by donating a vehicle to him."

A man in Evanston, Ill., said he wanted to pay for a car and several years' worth of insurance. A self-employed man in Madison Heights said he would drive Robertson to work and home, each day, for free.

Meanwhile, the modest Detroiter who walks an amazing 21 miles on his daily commutes to work in suburban Detroit said not even Sunday's snowstorm would keep him from getting to his job Monday. Eyeing the snow piling up around his white-frame house in Detroit, Robertson sounded not a bit worried.

"I've had worse. This is reminiscent of those snowstorms last year, and I made it then," said the man with a perfect attendance record in more than a dozen years at Schain Mold & Engineering in Rochester Hills.

Robertson said he likes walking and being outdoors, and prizes his job and coworkers, but he knows he can't keep up his arduous commuting forever.

Robertson's aging Honda Accord quit on him in 2005, and after repeated cutbacks in bus service the walking segments of his daily commutes grew years ago to take more time than he spends in his eight-hour factory shifts molding parts.

As for the possibility that a new federal program, available from Detroit's bus system, might provide a small-bus service that would pick Robertson up at home and deliver him directly to his job temporarily, he said: "I'd rather they spent that money on a 24-hour bus system, not on some little bus for me. This city needs buses going 24/7. You can tell the city council and mayor I said that."

Like hundreds of other Detroiters, the cost of car insurance is a factor Robertson knows he will have to deal with in acquiring his own transportation. A nationwide survey conducted last week found car insurance in Detroit to be the costliest in the nation, at an average of about $5,000 a year.


Darwin said it's not uncommon for Detroit motorists to have insurance premiums higher than car payments.

"I'm not an insurance agent, if I'm guessing it's going to be about $2,200 for six months." He added insurance companies often provide discounts for a year's payment upfront.

"I can work that insurance thing out," Robertson said. "It might be tough, but my dad used to say, tough times don't last — tough people do."

UBS banker Blake Pollock, who befriended Robertson while stopped in Oakland County and has given him dozens of rides this winter, said he was thrilled but wary about the outpouring of donations.

During his own commutes to his office in Troy, Pollock last year began noting Robertson's foot-slogging commutes, day after day, and finally offered him a ride. Now, they're fast friends.

On Sunday, Pollock said he planned to set up a board "of several professionals" to oversee the donations rolling in for Robertson.

"Putting a car in his driveway and just handing James the keys or filling his pockets with cash is not the answer. But with these resources now, we should be able to do something very positive for the guy," said Pollock, a vice president at UBS.

"I think the hundreds of donors want this to go to James and not have this go out of his hands. So, if we can set up this little board to manage his money, I think that can happen.

"When I'm with him tomorrow, I'm going to talk to him about that" — during the Monday-morning ride that Pollock planned to give Robertson after a bus gets him from Detroit to Troy.

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com or 313-223-4485.

i'm not nowhere near 56 or in detroit, but shit

new car

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Detroit-MI/pmf,pf_pt/88103677_zpid/17762_rid/days_sort/42.777763,-82.487411,41.926292,-83.709641_rect/9_zm/?view=map

http://www.zillow.com/homes/Rochester-hills_rb/

Its like going from 5 Points to Alpharetta
*****************************************
huh

And I will say his story is NOT UNIQUE. I live and work by main thoroughfares and it takes me about 2 hours to get to work if I need to hop on the iron pimp.

Why doesn't he get another job
THERE ARE NO JOBS in the city by design. Its called benign neglect

"why doesn't he move?"
His house is paid for and the prices for rent and mortgage in Oakland county are prohibitive on his wages. Even if he could sell his house he couldnt use what he would get to survive.

"why cant he buy a new or used car?"
He can probably by a good used car but the insurance rate for a used car in the city of Detroit can cost about 5000 a year.

"why cant he ride a bike to work?"
16.7 inches of snow and some of the suburbs don't have bike lanes or sidewalks and he would be accosted by the suburban police TRUST ME

Why wont people give him a ride home?
He lives in scary Detroit and no one wants to drive there.

Why do the buses not run all the way to the suburbs
Detroit suburbs can opt out of funding public transit to keep out crime because you know criminals catch the bus after they rob banks and shit.


*****************************************
huh

______________________________________




www.twitter.com/muhfuckinthomas

and put the least amount of insurance possible on it.

*****************************************
huh

once he gets a car he will have 14 hours left over to do other shit.

these mofos claim to love the wire n shit
but when faced with some real shit?
they worse than fucking liberals and gentrification and their fucking "rationalization"

smh*
get out this post before you blow a gasket at these know it alls
who havent suffered anything worse than a god damn hangnail
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

>And I will say his story is NOT UNIQUE. I live and work by
>main thoroughfares and it takes me about 2 hours to get to
>work if I need to hop on the iron pimp.
>
>Why doesn't he get another job
>THERE ARE NO JOBS in the city by design. Its called benign
>neglect
>
>"why doesn't he move?"
>His house is paid for and the prices for rent and mortgage in
>Oakland county are prohibitive on his wages. Even if he could
>sell his house he couldnt use what he would get to survive.
>
>"why cant he buy a new or used car?"
>He can probably by a good used car but the insurance rate for
>a used car in the city of Detroit can cost about 5000 a year.
>
>"why cant he ride a bike to work?"
>16.7 inches of snow and some of the suburbs don't have bike
>lanes or sidewalks and he would be accosted by the suburban
>police TRUST ME
>
>Why wont people give him a ride home?
>He lives in scary Detroit and no one wants to drive there.
>
>Why do the buses not run all the way to the suburbs
>Detroit suburbs can opt out of funding public transit to keep
>out crime because you know criminals catch the bus after they
>rob banks and shit.
>

Wasn't this guy just walking to work with a coke and a smile? Don't know why there's such a reaction. If people want to slip him some cash, let them.

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

http://skateandannoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nash-scooter.jpg

this would be better...

http://cloudfront.ojcommerce.com/img/prods/med/r6125_mongoose_12_skate_bike.jpg

dude comes off as a passive fool.

this is fucking america. shit aint gotta be that rough.

story came out...

there was a guy at my job who walked quite a bit to work. reason he had a DUI and a couple kids. he was a nice guy who made dumb mistakes but good worker. but there was more to the story and i think there must be here.

he has to like something about his walk, struggle, etc..

cause ain't no fucking way.

>he has to like something about his walk, struggle, etc..
>
>cause ain't no fucking way.


Some people do shit the hard way just because.

>

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

spend as much time out of the house as possible.

he can't afford rent on his own so he sucks it up the best he can.

>spend as much time out of the house as possible.
>
>he can't afford rent on his own so he sucks it up the best he
>can.

disgusting.

They *do* have craigslist in Detroit, right? lol

I can't rock with this story. If he doesn't care enough to try and make things easier, then I definitely don't.

I'd guess that the sidewalks would eventually be shoveled as well. I ride in the snow. Still riding as of today.

The city just got out of bankruptcy because of poor management
They havent plowed the streets since 1986


I AM NOT KIDDING
*****************************************
huh

Ain't money beyond the bare necessities. I won't talk about how at one point the garbage was getting picked up once every two weeks because of budget cuts.

Y'all should tell us tho... Seriously. I don't trust the picture that "people not from Detroit" are painting about the city. They just show us houses being knocked down, fields of weeds and downtown.

Michigan streets with their gigantic potholes are well known, particularly because the temps change so often. Additionally, I'd guarantee that a lot of the streets he's walking on are back and side streets, which wouldn't be suitable for biking.

I mean, its fucked that he is older and unable to move up and out of his situation

but


he must be fit as fuck with all that walking

A nice mile walk from my door to the train and another half mile from the train to the job. Roundtrip, that's probably good for a couple thousand steps on pedometer.

But it was raining yesterday... and 10 degrees this morning... so yeah, I'm not about that life.

Excuse my French.
But I guess if it makes him feel good about himself, then whatever.

plantation type sh*t.

>plantation type sh*t.
>
>


Let my love slide in and never slip out

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8c56f5a254635f74ac9cf7e2fa82c94072d328fa/c=315-918-2326-2430&r=x383&c=540x380/local/-/media/DetroitFreePress/2015/01/31/B9315852091Z.1_20150131173627_000_GHB9QTH3A.1-0.jpg

It takes him 3 hours to walk 7 miles from the end of the bus line to his job. Then it takes him 2.5 hours to walk 5 miles home after he gets off the bus.

He's doing like 30+ minute miles, doing this for 10+ years you'd think he'd have a better pace than that, lol

about right...plus he's doing it in any weather...

The article fails to mention that he stops off at the store to buy him a quart/pint of whatever liquor he can get. I mean why else would you walk around at night unless you had some libations to keep you warm.

>about right...plus he's doing it in any weather...
>
>The article fails to mention that he stops off at the store to
>buy him a quart/pint of whatever liquor he can get. I mean why
>else would you walk around at night unless you had some
>libations to keep you warm.

but I don't know how he can pull that off and sleep only 2 hours.

Which leads to another thing, it says he gets up at 6am and leaves the house at 8, wtf is he doing that takes him 2 hours to get ready? Can't his old lady lay his clothes out and have his breakfast ready so he can "sleep-in" another hour?

Hard to believe he was doing that for 10 years.

>It takes him 3 hours to walk 7 miles from the end of the bus
>line to his job. Then it takes him 2.5 hours to walk 5 miles
>home after he gets off the bus.

I remember hiring him. He showed up to the interview an hour late. I wasn't even going to interview him. But he called from a pay phone 5 minutes before his appointment and told me where he was. Turns out my boss gave him bad directions. I told him I'll interview him whenever he makes it. When he shows up he was apologizing like crazy telling me he hated being late and he was usually on time. But he just moved to Cali from Nevada a few days before and didnt know the streets. He mentioned he walked. I looked at his address I was like ummmm from there? He said yeah I couldnt get a ride today. Well he lived 15 miles away.

We go through the interview and every thing was good but the whole living 15 miles away with no car thing bothered me. So I brought it up at the end. I said I dont feel comfortable hiring someone who has no way to get here everyday. He just said sir that is my problem not yours. If you give me an opportunity to work here I will be on time and I wont call in sick.

I gave him a shot and he was one of my best guys. He bought a bike when he left the interview and he rode 15 miles a day. He was never late and never called in.

job i've ever worked at.

this guy had the worst luck in the world. Well I think a lot of it was the fucked up situation he created for himself. See 10 kids from 4 different chicks. Then he had his 11th while working with me. But after like 9 months he saved enough to buy a car. He was so happy. Nice little used Astro Van. Looked clean and ran good. He brought it to work for a week. Then the next week he brought it and it was FUCKED UP. His wife was driving it to run errands before he left for work. She dropped something and bent over to get it while driving and hit something. I want to say a tree. Man the whole front end was fucked up. The side panels were torn off. Pretty much everything from the wheels forward was missing plastic. He drove it like that for another week before cops pulled him over because it was dangerous to drive. Then back to his bike.

What a bunch of dicks.

>What a bunch of dicks.

...

my other post talks about a guy like that in my warehouse. At the time I worked 2 miles from work. So those late nights I would take him home. But going 15 miles out of the way after working a long ass day already. Plus him not kicking in cash on the ride got old. Once in a while was cool but after a while I just wanted to get home.

I understand people have it worse than me, but commuting is tough whether you drive a car, ride a bike or walk. However, if Ai complain, then I complain. When it gets to the point where my commute is too much to deal with, then I will move closer to the job.

Seems like this man has strong will and determination. I hope he will get good transportation, if he chooses.

have offered to donate cars to him so he should be good

>have offered to donate cars to him so he should be good.

In all, people will complain about shit, whether their situation are better or worse than someone else's. I hope this man improves his transportation situation.

real family doesn't let you walk eight hours to get anywhere when they could easily drive you instead. I can't imagine those rides taking more than 20-30 minutes.

Fuck everyone in that story. Including dude. Loving the struggle for no real reason. Maybe he likes telling people that that's what he does. But yes, eff him.

>real family doesn't let you walk eight hours to get anywhere
>when they could easily drive you instead. I can't imagine
>those rides taking more than 20-30 minutes.
>
>Fuck everyone in that story. Including dude. Loving the
>struggle for no real reason. Maybe he likes telling people
>that that's what he does. But yes, eff him.

I'm with you. This story, and everyone involved in it, suck.

Why that man still making so little after so long?
You use him as a stick and feed but don't respond with the same response.
And not only that, passive aggressively threaten other people.
Well HE never uses sick days, HE never calls in.
Meanwhile people making pennies on the dollar coming into work coughing and wheezing and people stressing out over spending time with their kids.
Ten years of hard dedication and the only thing you got for that man is that he's a prop?


And that dude is a fool.
This isn't the 50s, a closed mouth don't get fed. After 5 years of immaculate service and a perfect attendance record, you either take that dedication somewhere else for more money, or buy yourself leverage.

http://www.gofundme.com/l7girc?fb_action_ids=10205821235471224&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_ref=fb_g_my_t


.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

Company Details
Location Type: Single Location
Industry: Special Dies and Tools, Die Sets, Jigs and Fixtures, and Industrial Molds
Ownership: Private <-----------------
Year Founded: 1986
Sales Range: $1,000,000 to $4,999,999 <-----------------
Employees: 20 to 50

Schain Mold & Engineering, Inc is located at the address 14675 Lydia Ave in Eastpointe, Michigan 48021.

Schain Mold & Engineering, Inc has an annual sales volume of 501K - 999,999. <---------------------

For more information contact Marcia Cole, Manager/Director

For maps and directions to Schain Mold & Engineering, Inc view the map to the right. For reviews of Schain Mold & Engineering, Inc see below.

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

They're about to throw him on the morning show circuit.

These donation things rub me the wrong way (Yeah I'm hatin)
It started off with a reasonable objective. Raise $5000 so this fool doesn't keep wasting 8 hours a day walking to work.

But now he's got an extra $125,000. What is the objective for that? There really needs to be a cap on these things. Like once you hit the goal, the drive stops.

But GoFundMe would never put a limit on it. They get a cut of every dollar raised, so they want that number to go sky high.

It really is an interesting insight on human behavior though.
If there was someone asking for money on the street and you notice him stacking thousands and thousands from passersbys, there's no way in hell you would contribute another cent to him.
But that concept doesn't translate over to the virtual world for some reason.

It's still a huge come-up; talking about 5 years of take-home salary after taxes.

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

read about this dude a year from now being broke, unemployed and homeless

Anybody that walks to work like this is a very responsible person.

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

went broke were regular hardworking people before

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/28/500-million-powerball-jackpot-the-tragic-stories-of-the-lotterys-unluckiest-winners/slide/andrew-jack-whittaker/

.
.
.
"Today is your day to have a better life -- it's your right."

I'm not moving for anything less than $80 an hour.

What a way to start the year. I don't know how I'd react if I were in that guy's shoes to be honest. I wonder if he's going to keep that job.

Long lost cousins?

The pubic gave him this come up, but at the same time, he can't enjoy this riches in private and I'm sure folks are going to come out the woodworks and pester him.

by the time this is done he will prolly have 300K before taxes...

that dude should be able to live off 175K for the rest of his life if his banker friend finds him a few mutual funds.

already, so him chucking the deuces isn't too far off. But at the same time, dude strikes me as a busy body in that I don't think he likes being too idle for too long. Hopefully dude is able to get the right people around him like you said so he can get the money to be a complete positive aspect to his life and not be too detrimental.

I meant busy body in the sense I have a feeling dude likes having a purpose to waking up in the morning in terms of occupying his time.

People want to be a part of something and be able to talk about it, so they will keep contributing.

But at what point is enough enough? Like if it grows to $5million. Would that be morally right?
The objective was to help him out a little, not make him rich.

I think crowd fund platforms should have an upper limit.
You set a goal. If you don't reach that goal, you get nothing.
Once you reach the goal, the campaign ends.

What do YOU think?

at all.

Is too much good will immoral?

Just because people are willing to give you something, does not mean it is right for you to take it

>Just because people are willing to give you something, does
>not mean it is right for you to take it
>
>
>

When you see he has 150k, and you still donate then it's likely you're getting some type of emotional high out of the transaction.
Those people probably wanted to be a part of something, is that immoral too?

Let my love slide in and never slip out

>
>Those people probably wanted to be a part of something, is
>that immoral too?
>

There's nothing wrong with the people giving. They are getting something out of it (validation, emotional high, etc.). But the receiver also has the ability to stop accepting offers.

Like if I'm in line at McDonalds and I forget my wallet at home. Someone nice might offer to pay for my meal and I'd be grateful to accept.
But if the next 6 people line wanted to each throw in $5, I would be wrong as hell taking their money. I already got my meal paid for, what am I going to do with that extra cash?

"I'll take anybody's money if they're just giving it away" (c) Clay Davis

I don't subscribe to that line of thinking.

but never got a job.

The guy with the great radio voice. He ran through that money and barely recovered.

What if this guy drinks himself to death? Sometimes when you get too much money you end up doing goofy shit.

that's on those folks.

I'm taking about raising money over and above the intended goal with no specific objective of the surplus funds

dude seems like one of those really prideful old Black men who would see himself as weak if he took someone's help.....



We the children of the Light, you know what I mean?
That's why I'm hating on the darkness like Paula Deen
Cause in my hood they masked up like it's Halloween
We going hard for the Rock, but we not some fiends
- Andy Mineo

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/macomb-county/new-car-for-detroit-man-whose-story-of-his-difficult-daily-commute-made-international-headlines

Perhaps he is in shock, lol

http://media2.wxyz.com/photo/2015/02/06/photo%20_OP_2_CP__1423248879405_13119704_ver1.0_900_675.JPG

.

.

.

I'm just very critical of how these crowd funding sites are set up.

This is just one of many where I've seen the amount raised far exceed the initial objective.
As it stands now, the number people choose as their goal is completely meaningless.

I think there are ethical issues in fundraising that have to be addressed with these platforms.

its a feel-good story on its face, but is it really?

yt ppl just don't get it.

he never wanted to be a charity case, lol.

this shit is hilarious and sad.

I'm loving the donations tho. I wish I could send him a book on
investing lol.

this story is BULLSHIT!!!!!! shows everything that is wrong with detroit!!
man works for 23 years only earn $10 an hour,no good public transport

he either too under educated or too stupid to go for a better paying job.

Sorry, but fuck that. Dude is not an inspiration. He's literally been walking in circles for a decade.

Props to homie for the commitment...but, this is more sad than anything. That much fire in his belly, and he uses it to be a wage slave?

if you're going to grind that fucking hard, at least be compensated handsomely.

Man, we as black people identify so much with struggle that we want to applaud niggas who struggle the best.

And he seems like a good man, but doesn't come off as the brightest dude. He doesn't have many options.

Let that man live and enjoy his financial windfall. His work ethic and determination are herculean.

Corbis
Corbis
Advertisement
James Robertson, the Detroit man who had to walk 21 miles to work every day for years after his car broke down, has moved to a new home out of worries for his safety. Robertson got help from the police and decamped without even informing his girlfriend.
Robertson relocated from the rooming house where he has lived for the past 15 years and paid $220 a week for rent. Robertson also received a 2015 loaded Ford Taurus priced at $35,000 last week, which he was parking in the precinct’s parking lot, reports The Detroit Free Press. His crowdfunding campaign netted him $350,000.
According to police, Robertson, 56, wanted to move to a place where he felt safer. He made the move almost immediately after crime-prevention specialists offered him temporary living quarters, Detroit police Capt. Aric Tosqui said. “We had a meeting with him (and) he expressed interest that he did not feel safe,” said Tosqui, commanding officer of the 3rd Precinct.
It probably was wise to move as Robertson’s new windfall has received major global publicity. And as soon as news hit that Robertson had extra cash, people came out of the woodwork asking for handouts–even though he has yet to get the cash in hand from his GoFundMe campaign.
“People were actually asking him for money,” 2nd Deputy Chief June West said.
The recent murder of an 86-year-old Detroit man who just won the lottery for $20,000 also spurred Robertson’s decision to move.
According to Tosqui, he reached out to a local businessman and asked if he could provide an empty apartment to Robertson, at no cost “for a few days” until Robertson found a permanent location.
- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/510645/detroit-man-walked-21-miles-work-moves-safer-place-receiving-350000-crowdfunding-campaign/#sthash.8vrAM06K.dpuf

money isn't always the answer and people who have never had big money rarely know what to do with it.

I fear for his safety and his sanity.

Did he really dip on his GF? If she made him pay $220 a week to live in a paid off house in Detroit I don't blame him.

Now they say he was in a rooming house.

Something is fishy.

he needs to get away
find a job and live somewhere NOT
in detroit

I figured he was a little off from the initial story. Hopefully I'm wrong....

Let my love slide in and never slip out