Citizens of the Motor City and its surrounding areas banded together to make James Robertson’s life a little easier. O.K., a lot easier.
Last week, the Michigan man topped headlines with his weathered blue-collar story on how he had routinely walked 21 miles to his day job.
Some 10 years ago, Robertson says his Honda Accord broke down, leaving him car-less in home of the automobile. Undeterred, he relied on his feet and the city of Detroit’s public system (more so his feet) to get him to his factory job for the better part of the decade. He claims to have gotten by on “drinking two liters of Mountain Dew and countless cans of Coke each day.”
The Daily Mail reports that Evan Leedy and Blake Pollock, a 19-year-old college student and local banker, respectively, combined their intuitive resources to create a GoFundMe account that has since reached more than $300,000 since the Detroit Free Press got wind of Robertson’s plight.
The underlying story was the city’s unreliable public transportation and their high car insurance rates, which forced Robertson’s feet to pony up the trek to Schain Mold & Engineering in Rochester Hills.
Robertson’s luck increased even further when a Ford Dealership stepped in to bless him with a 2015 Ford Taurus. When asked his thoughts on his unexpected gift, an emotional Robertson replied, “I don’t like it, I love it. If only my parents could see me now.”
“I’m a Ford fan. I remember the Taurus. They look comfortable, nothing fancy. They’re simple on the outside, strong on the inside — like me.”
As for the big chunk of retirement change, Robertson plans to use it on dental insurance (re: all the years of soda drinking), gas, repairs and insurance.
A vacation shouldn’t be out of the question either.
Take a look at Robertson’s interview with Fox News below.
H/T: Crooks&Liars
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Photo: Detroit Free Press
