Community Chat

[sidsmom]

I wonder if these GoFundMe accounts have a trust option for payout of funds...it would be nice to guarantee these funds to be paid out for which it was intended. And to be invested wisely in the interim.

[patintc]

James asked the young man who set up the Go Fund Me account to have a trust fund set up so he will use the money ($310,000 so far) wisely. The young man is in the process of getting that done. Cheers to all involved.

[Pqfan]

And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more sorry this made me thing of that song. Remember that song?

[shoekitty]

To me there is more to the story than the man receiving money and a car. I think in some way we don't know, he deserved it. He walked in weather most would cringe at for years. Day in, day out. He didn't complain, and seemed to enjoy his job. . Sounds like he lives alone, and he is NOT wealthy. He wished his Mom and Dad could see him in that car, and he mentioned he was blessed to walk to a job he loved.. That says a lot about the man inside. While 300,000 is a lot of money. He deserves it, IMO. What is more important God thought he deserved it. The young man who helped him, the banker who gave him a ride now and then, felt he really deserved all this. . This man truly touched their life.,

Yes, we can always say someone else deserves it more. But, that was not the case. A starving child some where did not get it, a dying person some where did not get it. He did. There has to be a reason. IMO, that money was a blessing, a gift from God who worked through others to get it to him. I am thankful for people who act on their instinct,. I am happy for this gentleman as well.

[MikafromTopeka]

Did any of the articles ever explain how he traveled from 8am till 2pm to get to work and then another 6 hours back? If he got off work at 9 or 10pm he wouldn't have got home till 3 or 4 am then back out at 8 again?

[shoekitty]

Don't quote me on this, but from the several articles and a video, it was a 21 mile ROUND TRIP. Not one way, as they seem to make it look. So that is 10.5 miles to, and then back. If my bones were in better shape, it would take about 2.5 to 3 hours one way. I think on occasion he took rides over the 10 years he was without a car. I think he lived alone too.

[Mominohio]

On 2/8/2015 Marienkaefer2 said: When I see a story like this, I think of the conditions that exist for a story like this. Like, why do our cities not have adequate public transportation? I'm happy for this man, but there are many like him that do not get such attention. People just struggling through every day. So we as a society give him $300k and pat ourselves on the back. Meanwhile, our inner cities crumble, our infrastructure crumbles, our schools crumble. It's a false sense of "oh everything is ok. We are a great society. Look what we did." Instead we should be looking at the domestic problems that create this situation and demand better from our leaders and from ourselves.

A big reason areas like this are crumbling is because the people who live in them (majority of them, of course not every single individual) don't care about the community, don't contribute to the community, don't financially support the community, and actually tear down the community. Then we have people crying to go 'outside' the community and fix it all with tax dollars.

When will we learn that 'fixing' it for 'free' is never appreciated, maintained, and given back. We rebuild some of these blighted areas over and over, just to see them torn down again. No stake in it, no level of responsibility, no ownership of the debt and work to make it happen result in the same outcomes every time.

As for this individual, being helped by private citizens, with their own money, choosing who they wish to help and how, I applaud this. This is the way charity is supposed to be administered. People do have to think, that giving someone in his financial position a new car sounds good, but not if there will be no way for him to maintain it, license it, pay for insurance and gas, over the life of the vehicle. It sounds like there is money for that now, but sometimes we do have to think about just what we want to give to whom, as it may only further complicate their lives, and provide them with something they can't possibly financially maintain.

[Pqfan]

On 2/8/2015 kaybee said:

Did any of the articles ever explain how he traveled from 8am till 2pm to get to work and then another 6 hours back? If he got off work at 9 or 10pm he wouldn't have got home till 3 or 4 am then back out at 8 again?

I was wondering this too! As soon as he got home it would be time to go back.

[nlwilliams]

On 2/7/2015 sidsmom said:

On 2/7/2015 kaybee said:

You would think that someone conscientious enough to make it to work everyday for 20 years and develop such a good reputation with his employer would have also built up some credit or experience in order to either purchase a car or find a job that paid better or was closer to his home or move closer to work.

These are great stories but sometimes I think the amount of money given to these folks that get lucky when their story goes viral is outrageous. I'm glad he was given the vehicle and a few bucks but $300k is outrageous. I felt the same way about the abused school bus attendant but people can do what they want when they donate so that part of it is none of my business I suppose.

ITA. We live in such a knee-jerk society. I, too, would think if he really wanted a car, he would've gotten one by now. Is he really that unhappy? Maybe we're taking the one thing he took pride in away from him? People donate to make themselves feel better, but I guess it's not for me to decide where their money goes. Hope that same generosity is given to everyday needs like homeless shelters, food banks....just sayin

Kill joys!

[Melania]

On 2/9/2015 Pqfan said:

On 2/8/2015 kaybee said:

Did any of the articles ever explain how he traveled from 8am till 2pm to get to work and then another 6 hours back? If he got off work at 9 or 10pm he wouldn't have got home till 3 or 4 am then back out at 8 again?

I was wondering this too! As soon as he got home it would be time to go back.

He walked and by the time he got home he was only able to get a few hours sleep. he then had to turn around and do it again.

His boss said that when others would call in late he'd say that if James can get here on time, so can you. Love it!!