TROY, Mich. (TheBlaze/AP) — A Detroit-area man who had said he walked 21 miles a day to and from work is finding life is much easier about a year after receiving a new car and a windfall of donations, but the downside to that generosity is that he has put on weight.
The Detroit Free Press reported last year about James Robertson's daily trek to the factory where he worked in Rochester Hills. Shortly thereafter, donors gave Robertson the car and roughly $360,000. He moved from Detroit to suburban Troy.
James Robertson, 56, of Detroit, walks to catch his morning bus as a part of his commute to work on Jan. 29, 2015. Hundreds of people have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to help Robertson, who says he typically walks 21 miles (34 kilometers) to get to and from work. Robertson began making the daily trek to the factory where he molds parts after his car stopped working ten years ago and bus service was cut back. He's had perfect attendance for more than 12 years. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Ryan Garza)
“I love this car,” Robertson said of his 2015 Ford Taurus, a car he selected because he said, “It’s like me — simple on the outside, durable on the inside," the Detroit Free Press reported.
"People ask me why I still work. I don't change that for no one," Robertson said.
Now it takes the 57-year-old about 12 minutes to drive to work. The newspaper reported Sunday that the new situation hasn't rid Robinson of all of life's problems. He still needs to find new friends and fit into a new neighborhood, and he wants to lose weight because he is not getting as much exercise as before his good fortune.
Robertson said he isn't likely to retire anytime soon, in part because he prizes his friendships at work.
Each weekday, and lately on many Saturdays, Robertson makes the trip to his job at Schain Mold & Engineering, where he operates an injection-molding machine. But instead of needing five hours of walking and bus riding to get there, he can get to work by car swiftly.
"His attendance has never faltered, not one day," plant manager Todd Wilson said recently. "That money, none of it changed him one bit. James is still one of the most loving, caring people I know."
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