61 year old man walks 35 miles one way to work as janitor to support sick wife. $9.07/hr

[Liberal_in_LA]

DAVIS CITY, Ia. – Steve Simoff's daily commute to and from work can be more than a full-time job.

His route stretches 35 miles from this "deader-than-a-doornail" small town near the Missouri border all the way north to Lakeside Casino in Osceola.
And Simoff, 61, often hoofs it to work. That's right, he walks along Interstate Highway 35, the lone figure striding along the shoulder of the road, dwarfed by semitrailer trucks that whoosh by at 70 miles per hour.
He doesn't clock in until 11 p.m. for his overnight shift as a janitor. But to give himself time to get there on foot, he bounds out of the front door of his basement apartment at 3:30 p.m.

On those days, his 2002 Ford Windstar minivan with 105,000 miles on its odometer stays parked in the driveway. The Simoffs haven't always had a car. But even now that they do, gas money is tight
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/kyle-munson/2015/02/28/walking-commuter-steve-simoff-davis-city-osceola-casino/24198793/___

Her disability — Renee's Supplemental Security Income checks add a little cushion to Simoff's $9.07-per-hour job — prodded Simoff to walk to work on a more regular basis.

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Lately, Simoff has been hitching a ride most of the way home with a co-worker who lives in Leon, leaving him a morning jaunt of barely more than eight miles.

[RandySF]

1. USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

[7wo7rees]

2. Just a.heartbreak. That is all.NT

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. and then he works on his feet for 8 hours

[peacebird]

10. Yes.very sad.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. note- people do stop and give him rides part of the way 3 out of five days

[Fumesucker]

4. Man should get himself a bicycle

Triple the speed with the same effort.

[happyslug]

16. but hard to catch a ride with a bike.

Sorry he is relying on being picked up as a hitch hiker. A bike is something you can throw in someone's back seat. Sorry while hitch hiking is illegal it is one way for people to get around.

[Fumesucker]

18. I've done both at one time or another

It was obvious from him walking facing away from traffic, that's not the safe option, it's the get picked up option, in a lot of states pedestrians aren't supposed to be on the Interstate in the first place and bikes too for that matter.

On the other hand if you can't depend on being picked up and you're walking miles rather than riding a bike then you should get the bike, it will save a lot of time and energy and you can carry stuff as well.

[happyslug]

24. The federal law setting up the Interstates STRONGLY RECOMMENDS a ban on pedestrians and bicycles.

Thus there should be NO STATES that permit bikes or pedestrians on interstates.

On the other hand I do know of exceptions to that rule. Bicycles are permitted on interstate 79 around Neville Island and the Ohio River between Exits 18 and 19.


http://pghbridges.com/ambridge/0573-4485/i79nevillemnch.htm

ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/bikes/state_mapA.pdf

It is the only spot in Pennsylvania that permits bicycles on an Interstate that I know of. California appears to be more open to bikes on freeways, but only in rural areas of the state:

http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/123478-how-find-out-state-interstate-highways-freeways-you-can-bicycle.html

[marym625]

6. Well that sucks!

Damn! I know that the cost is probably prohibitive, but can't he move? Or better yet, get a raise to match the cost of living?

Can we write to his employer? Or would they fire him for the bad publicity?

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. read the article. those questions are asked. long article

[marym625]

11. okey dokey.

Bookmarked. Actually watching Dear America, Letters Home from Vietnam. I usually read the articles. Should have before I asked

[XemaSab]

8. How is that physically possible?

He'd have to be walking for 15 hours a day at 4.6 miles an hour.

If his work shift is 5 hours, that's 4 hours for sleeping.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. he gets a ride home. vehicles stop and offer ride most days for part of way

[Fumesucker]

12. Which is why he's walking on the wrong side...

Even on the Interstate he should face the traffic if he's walking, cars swerve off all the time.

[catnhatnh]

22. Bingo!

Wiki says the actual average walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour so 7.5 hours x 3.1 mph = less than 24 miles...leaving him 11 miles from work at 11:00 pm.

You can tell me he COMMUTES 35 miles each way but don't tell me he WALKS 35 miles each way because 70 miles divided by 3.1 miles per hour would leave him less than an hour a day to work...

[flvegan]

13. Wish he was in Tampa.

I'd find a way to leverage that determination and drive and pay him for it.

Just saying.

[postulater]

14. Looks warm there. No gloves or boots. Lucky he's not in Boston.

[LiberalElite]

17. There is some snow in the photo. nt

[bullwinkle428]

15. If there was a "crowd-sourcing/crowd-funding" site that would

provide gas & expense money to help him out, I would happily contribute.

[AngryDem001]

19. 'Murica!

[Arugula Latte]

20. Greatest country on Earth, fuck yeah!

[johnnyreb]

21. Uniquely American!

(warning: 25 second audio of gee dubya)

President George B*sh to a divorced mother of three. Omaha, Nebraska Feb. 4th 2005.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIjo-dWE1Jg

[KG]

23. yay america!