Transportation can be an enormous impediment in getting to and from 
work, especially in cities that aren’t commuter friendly. One Detroit man, however, doesn’t let the distance keep him away from his factory job.
Factory worker James Robertson, 56, walks 21 miles round trip to his job at an industrial molding plant. Although he catches the bus, it only takes him part of the route to his job.
Robertson only earns a little over $10 an hour and says that’s not enough to buy a car, but he’s not bitter. The factory worker, who works for a company that produces parts for the maker of Humvee cars, says he enjoys his coworkers and his job. And his boss says Robertson is always at work and doesn’t make excuses.
“I set our attendance standard by this man,” said his boss Todd Wilson to the Detroit Free Press. “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! He’s never missed. I’ve seen him come in here wringing wet.”
What is most amazing about this story is that Robertson has gone on like this, walking 21 miles a day, for 10 years. That’s when his Honda Accord broke down and he had to make a choice between walking to work or being unemployed. No matter the weather, Robertson takes the bus and then walks to work, five days a week.
“I sleep a lot on the weekend, yes I do,” he said, “but I can’t imagine not working.”
He says he can’t catch a ride with co-workers because none of them lives near him.
Now, however, it looks like Robertson is done walking to work since some people who knew of his situation raised over $42,000 as part of an online campaign for him to buy a car.
People who raised the money said they were just impressed by his determination.
