It’s a touching story, or at least it began that way: When the city closed down some of its key bus routes, a Detroit man, desperate to keep his job in a suburban factory, began walking to the nearest bus stop, now more than 10 miles away. All told, James Robertson walked 21 miles a day, round trip, for nearly a decade. The arduous commute took him much longer than his shift at the factory—so long, in fact, that he had only a few hours to sleep. Still, he never arrived late for work.
Recently Robertson’s story was featured on the front page of the Detroit Free Press. From there it was picked up by national publications, including USA Today and People. ABC News named him its Person of the Week. Touched by his determination, thousands of readers began asking what they could do to help.
A college student put together a web site to collect donations. As of last Sunday, two weeks after the story appeared, readers had donated $30,000 to the fund. By then the story was going viral. The following evening contributions topped $80,000. A few days ago the Free Press reported that Robertson’s fund now holds $350,000. Also, a car dealership has given him a brand new Ford Taurus, loaded with equipment.
Robertson’s life has changed, and not in the way he might have hoped. As his story attracted more and more attention, he began to fear that he was no longer safe in his neighborhood.
