Off The Record
Student Walked Over 20 Miles To First Day Of New Job. CEO Hears About It And Does This
Every job is hard at first until we learn the craft. It requires countless hours working hard to master it, and then becomes easier. Not easy, easiER.
We hear it all over again, and pin it down to overnight success, but to come to that point people work thousands of hours in silence.
Often, when we begin something new and work for someone, we want to give it all and leave a good impression. The story about Walter is no different, but there’s a twist at the end.
In the summer of 2018, 20-year-old Walter Carr started working at Bellhops, an Alabama moving company. Moving houses is not a stationary job. The first location he had to show up was 20 miles away from Walter’s home and he had to leave early in the morning to be there on time.
Just Like Any Job In The Beginning, It Was Hard For Walter
The distance would not be a problem if Walter had a car, but the stars didn’t align for Carr and his car broke down. An average Joe would use that as an excuse to skip first day of the job, or at least be super late, but Walter is no average Joe. He made it his mission to get there right on time, tightened his shoe laces and set out on foot to the location.
He had only 4 hours of sleep the night before, so he had enough time to get there. It was still pitch black outside when he left his house…
By 4 AM, Carr had arrived at the location in Pelham. Fortunately for Carr, he did not have to make the entire journey on foot. When police officers saw the young man walking in the middle of the night, it was suspicious to say the least, and had to stop and ask him what he was doing alone. According to USA Today Carr recalled what he told the officers: “It’s going to sound really crazy but I’m actually going to work.” When Carr told them his story, they could only be amazed at his dedication to his job.
The cops, impressed by the dedication, treated him to something at the nearest Whataburger before taking him to a local church. They promised him that he would make it in time, but Walter didn’t want to wait a second. When the officers came back, Carr was gone again and they immediately searched for him, found him and drove him at the location.
But Here’s What Happened Next…
Before story of the young dedicated man went viral, Jenny Lamey, the owner of the home which was being moved, wrote this facebook:
“Around 6:30 a.m. the doorbell rang. It was a police officer. He proceeded to tell us that he had picked up ‘this nice kid’ in Pelham early this morning. ‘The nice kid,’ Walter, said he was supposed to help us with our move today… You could tell how the officer told us this story that he had complete admiration for Walter and by my reaction he could tell I did too.”
But wait… that’s not all! Walter was even earlier at the location than the time he was supposed to arrive. The family talked to Walter while they were waiting for the entire crew to arrive.
When the crew arrived they were so grateful that the new guy showed up because most of them did not and labor job is always better with more people splitting the “bill”. The family told the crew about the crazy story behind the journey of 20 miles, and when they asked Walter to comment about his journey, he just said “I walked”.
Bravery And Dedication Is Always Rewarded
The story got so viral within the community and online, and everyone was impressed from the dedication of the young man. The story even reached the ears of Bellhops’ CEO Luke Marklin.
All of a sudden, everything paid off for young Carr. Luke Marklin, the CEO, showed his gratitude for the employee by gifting him a car – Marlin’s own new 2014 Ford Escape. In an interview with Inside Edition, Marklin said that the car would be of much better use to Walter than him.
Proud to have encountered this young man. He certainly made an impact on us!#PelhamPD #belikewalter pic.twitter.com/d0zz0PMvnv
— Pelham Police Dept (@PelhamPoliceAL) July 16, 2018
Receiving the gift, Walter could hardly hold back his tears because the story of Walter’s life is filled with thorns on the road. Walter and his mother originally lived in New Orleans, but Hurricane Katrina forced the family to move in Birmingham where the Carrs were doing everything they can to put food on the table and pay the bills.
The takeout from Walter’s story is that it might not come right away for us, and just when life takes a turn for the worst, there might be a treasure hidden behind the thorny bushes.
