Granddad Walks 35 Miles To Work To Support Sick Wife And Grandson

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To support his ailing wife and earn a paycheck, a 61-year-old Iowa man sometimes walks 35 miles to his job as an overnight janitor. Steve Simoff told the Des Moines Register that he leaves his basement apartment in a small town by the Missouri border by 3:30 p.m. to get to the Lakeside Hotel and Casino in Osceola where he works for $9.07 per hour; his shift starts at 11 p.m. His wife suffered a stroke nine years ago and some days there just isn't enough money to put gas in the couple's 2002 minivan. Moving closer to his job would likely mean paying more than he now does in monthly rent -- $400 -- he told The Register.
Family and having a job are "the two most important things I can think of," Simoff said, explaining why he walks to his job. "That's my idea of a responsible person," he said, adding, "I'm not saying everybody should try it." He and his wife, Renee, adopted their now-22-year-old grandson, who also lives with them. Grandson Steven, 22, who has been unemployed since January, calls his grandfather his hero. When Steven worked an overnight warehouse job for several months, the extra money meant the two of them could put gas in the minivan and carpool.

Simoff doesn't hitchhike, although some regulars along the route do stop to offer him a lift. He gets a lift home from a co-worker, who drops him off about 8 miles from home. But Simoff doesn't seem to mind, according to The Register's story. He describes the walking route as "picturesque" and sounds like he enjoys passing the cows and fields along the way. He's done the walk in all kinds of weather, including snow. It is a little dangerous, he said, because trucks frequent Interstate Highway 35, whizzing past him at 70 miles per hour.
The Decatur County Sheriff's office confirmed that deputies also give Simoff rides when they can. A spokeswoman told The Huffington Post that she believed the Simoffs no longer have a phone. The number she provided was disconnected. The Huffington Post left messages for Mrs. Simoff and the couple's grandson on Facebook.
If Simoff's story has a familiar ring to it, it's because last month there were stories written about a Detroit man who for years has been walking 21 miles round trip through city streets to and from his factory job. The media attention got James Robertson, 56, $350,000 from a GoFundMe campaign and a new Ford Taurus. The publicity, though, also led to Robertson moving from his home to avoid being targeted by scammers and beggars. He also reported receiving death threats.
We wonder what the Internet holds for Simoff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/man-walks-35-miles-work-steve-simoff_n_6783726.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news&ir=Good%20News

Have the highest praise for him.

Brasidas wrote:

Eilzel wrote:

Show we EXACTLY where I see that.

Oh that's right I didn't say that- of course I wouldn't take away his freedom fgs

However if I were running the country I would be making sure he had a job to go to close to home (if he chose to)- so he wouldn't HAVE to make such a decision.

Of course you'd rather businesses could do what they like a expect the earth from people- good old exploitative capitalist you are eh didge

Of course you would if you had the means of power Eilzel, this is what left wing views do, they seek to impose their views onto others as they have always done.
You just proved my point afterwards, in your next sentence.
You would make sure he worked closer to home, again gtaking away his choice.
You see this is why socialism is enforcement, it takes away his choice to decide.

Then your last sentence is just you getting upset, that I am showing your views to be wrong. lol Seriously calm down mate.

The two highlighted parts show where obviously fail at comprehending the written word. I even emphasized in brackets it would ultimately be HIS CHOICE- I would just be giving him a real choice.

Capitalist choice- walk 35 miles to work or starve to death.
Socialist choice- walk 35 miles to work, OR work in a place more local to you.

See how it works? Or do I need to draw a diagram and post that to make it clear?

Your first sentence is just dumb, and shows how brainwashed you have been by Thatcherite/Reaganite RW propaganda- of course we lefties just want to control the world... Oh. My. God

Eilzel wrote:

Brasidas wrote:



Of course you would if you had the means of power Eilzel, this is what left wing views do, they seek to impose their views onto others as they have always done.
You just proved my point afterwards, in your next sentence.
You would make sure he worked closer to home, again gtaking away his choice.
You see this is why socialism is enforcement, it takes away his choice to decide.

Then your last sentence is just you getting upset, that I am showing your views to be wrong. lol Seriously calm down mate.

The two highlighted parts show where obviously fail at comprehending the written word. I even emphasized in brackets it would ultimately be HIS CHOICE- I would just be giving him a real choice.

Capitalist choice- walk 35 miles to work or starve to death.
Socialist choice- walk 35 miles to work, OR work in a place more local to you.

See how it works? Or do I need to draw a diagram and post that to make it clear?

Your first sentence is just dumb, and shows how brainwashed you have been by Thatcherite/Reaganite RW propaganda- of course we lefties just want to control the world... Oh. My. God

Oh we are back to more woeful insults about my understanding of English, wow, where did you learn that pathetic method of insulting Eilzel.
You now make a political choice to choose how far someone themselves wishes to walk to work.
Again you are taking out of the equation what he wants and making your views again subjective as to politics. That is absurd.
The simple fact here is this, he chooses to travel this far.
brainwashed, really, you see how the left become intolerant when their views are challeneged?
No better than those they claim are intolerant, this is why at times Eilzel you fail to see what socialism does to people and the emotions of humans as look how you are being with me now because I disagree with you.
That is why socialism does not work

I commented on your understand because:

1. I explicitly stated he WOULD have a choice.
And 2. You stated I would give him NO choice.

That is failing to understand in the extreme.

And yes he makes a choice he HAS to make.

Question- what do you imagine if a similar job paying exactly the same became available just 30 minutes walk away from his home?

Eilzel wrote:I commented on your understand because:

1. I explicitly stated he WOULD have a choice.
And 2. You stated I would give him NO choice.

That is failing to understand in the extreme.

And yes he makes a choice he HAS to make.

Question- what do you imagine if a similar job paying exactly the same became available just 30 minutes walk away from his home?

What choice?
You are forgetting one simple fact, he has already made a choice here, read the article again.
You comment because you wanting to make a chilidish dig knowing others had done the same. It is showing your intolerance to my views, becaue I am showing you are trying to change the situation in a hypothetical view, claiming one is capitalism which was again absurd.
He chooses the work he wants, there is places to live nearer which would cost more to live so he chooses a walk so he can have a better quality of life and even enjoys this choice he makes.
Again why imagine anything when you are not basing this around what he wants, so there is no point asking me or yourself what either of us want.
It is what he wants.
How many times does that point need to be said?

Brasidas wrote:

Eilzel wrote:I commented on your understand because:

1. I explicitly stated he WOULD have a choice.
And 2. You stated I would give him NO choice.

That is failing to understand in the extreme.

And yes he makes a choice he HAS to make.

Question- what do you imagine if a similar job paying exactly the same became available just 30 minutes walk away from his home?

What choice?
You are forgetting one simple fact, he has already made a choice here, read the article again.
You comment because you wanting to make a chilidish dig knowing others had done the same. It is showing your intolerance to my views, becaue I am showing you are trying to change the situation in a hypothetical view, claiming one is capitalism which was again absurd.
He chooses the work he wants, there is places to live nearer which would cost more to live so he chooses a walk so he can have a better quality of life and even enjoys this choice he makes.
Again why imagine anything when you are not basing this around what he wants, so there is no point asking me or yourself what either of us want.
It is what he wants.
How many times does that point need to be said?

I wasn't having a dig didge don't be silly.

I asked you a question, I noticed you failed to answer.

He has been forced, indirectly, into making this decision. Kind of like how an mother in parts of Ethiopia is forced to walk for miles just for clean water or face her and her family dying of thirst. It isn't a choice anyone wants to make, but faced with a devastating alternative there is only one real choice.

But that's alright eh?

Eilzel wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

What choice?
You are forgetting one simple fact, he has already made a choice here, read the article again.
You comment because you wanting to make a chilidish dig knowing others had done the same. It is showing your intolerance to my views, becaue I am showing you are trying to change the situation in a hypothetical view, claiming one is capitalism which was again absurd.
He chooses the work he wants, there is places to live nearer which would cost more to live so he chooses a walk so he can have a better quality of life and even enjoys this choice he makes.
Again why imagine anything when you are not basing this around what he wants, so there is no point asking me or yourself what either of us want.
It is what he wants.
How many times does that point need to be said?

I wasn't having a dig didge don't be silly.

I asked you a question, I noticed you failed to answer.

He has been forced, indirectly, into making this decision. Kind of like how an mother in parts of Ethiopia is forced to walk for miles just for clean water or face her and her family dying of thirst. It isn't a choice anyone wants to make, but faced with a devastating alternative there is only one real choice.

But that's alright eh?

Ah back to non insulting Eizel, that is better.
He has not been forced, he has taken his own choice here as to what work he does.
You claim he has been forced, where he again could move closer.
This is nothing like Ethiopia and am appalled you would even make such an absurd comparrison, he again has a choice, that woman has no choice, showing how you are confusing this whole situiation.
He can move closer, it means less money to live on as the rent is higher, it does not mean he cannot live that way does it?
He chooses to walk and also enjoy this, which to him brings purpose to his life.
This is why solcialists are so utterly negative, they spare no thought to how this person feels.

So he has a choice of walking 35 miles OR having less money to live on. And that's a fair choice?

Gee what a lovely choice to have to make eh didge.

Eilzel wrote:So he has a choice of walking 35 miles OR having less money to live on. And that's a fair choice?

Gee what a lovely choice to have to make eh didge.

Is it fair to him?
You see this is where yours and other views fall down, you are looking at this how you would choose or decide, have you attempted to place yourself inside his mind as to what is fair?
No

The Ethiopian comparison wasn't entirely unfair didge- couldn't the family just move? It's an extreme comparison by the point is there.

Yes the man has a choice- but its not a choice most people would want to make.

Anyway you avoided my earlier question-

IF there was a more local job to go to, do you think he would take it?

Eilzel wrote:The Ethiopian comparison wasn't entirely unfair didge- couldn't the family just move? It's an extreme comparison by the point is there.

Yes the man has a choice- but its not a choice most people would want to make.

Anyway you avoided my earlier question-

IF there was a more local job to go to, do you think he would take it?

It was abusrd Eilzel and you know it was no comparrison.
A woman in that situation has no choice.
He does have a choice.
The problem is here and you hit the point most here, is people are too selfish to make such a sacrfice, the whole point I have been making. He places the needs of his family above the needs of himself. He takes pride in the fact he has to walk far to help his family. Of course it is not the ideal situation but it was posted for this simple reasoning that people are noty willing to go that extra mile to do what is right for others. You and others here have proven a valid point most think of what is right for them and not what is right for the person making that choice.
This is why more and more people think everything should be given on a plate for them and base this around a selfish need.

You still didn't answer the question....

No one should be expected to walk 35 miles to work didge; that was my point. YES if they choose to then let them, BUT it should not be expected. Go the extra mile sure; but not 7 hours a day that's ridiculous- UNLESS you choose to.

Eilzel wrote:You still didn't answer the question....

No one should be expected to walk 35 miles to work didge; that was my point. YES if they choose to then let them, BUT it should not be expected. Go the extra mile sure; but not 7 hours a day that's ridiculous- UNLESS you choose to.

To me what is the needs here?

My happiness or your what you expect people should do?

Brasidas wrote:

Eilzel wrote:You still didn't answer the question....

No one should be expected to walk 35 miles to work didge; that was my point. YES if they choose to then let them, BUT it should not be expected. Go the extra mile sure; but not 7 hours a day that's ridiculous- UNLESS you choose to.

To me what is the needs here?

My happiness or your what you expect people should do?

Answer the question.

Eilzel wrote:

Brasidas wrote:
To me what is the needs here?

My happiness or your what you expect people should do?

Answer the question.

I just did, is my happiness more important or what you think should be expected of people?
Who decides what is right?
That is conjecture based on an opinion.
is it fine for him to walk this distance?
Clearly yes, which nullfies your standing on whether someone should be expected to.
This is what your whole argument is flawed, you are basing this on your own subjective views, not his.
He debunks your view point by the fact he does this.

You didn't answer it at all.

If there was a local job available do YOU THINK he would take it?

That is me, asking you, for your subjective opinion on what you think he would do.

Eilzel wrote:You didn't answer it at all.

If there was a local job available do YOU THINK he would take it?

That is me, asking you, for your subjective opinion on what you think he would do.

How would I know whether he would?
Clearlly there is local jobs, they pay less, so clearly he does not take one
Seriously stop asking the most idiotic questions, you yourself cannot answe yourself.
I did answer now you are avoiding my questions because you know you cannot answer Eizel.
Happy with that

I can answer my own question didge. If such a job existed locally then yes I think he would take it.

Apparently such a basic task is beyond you.

And to answer your question didge, it is fine for anyone to choose to walk if they wish to. HOWEVER, it is not fine for someone to walk ONLY because they think they have no real alternative- then they are being indirectly forced to do something.

(see, I can answer a question directly, instead of just evading the truth).

Eilzel wrote:I can answer my own question didge. If such a job existed locally then yes I think he would take it.

Apparently such a basic task is beyond you.

And to answer your question didge, it is fine for anyone to choose to walk if they wish to. HOWEVER, it is not fine for someone to walk ONLY because they think they have no real alternative- then they are being indirectly forced to do something.

(see, I can answer a question directly, instead of just evading the truth).

Flawed answer again, that is you Eilzel.
Is it him or me?
No, you decide by your own subjective view to decide what it is for others, hence why you think two dimensionally.
He is not being forced to do anything, again he has a choice.
Wow caplocks, someone is upset lol.
It took you 4 posts to answer my question and as seen, then you failed.

Brasidas wrote:

Eilzel wrote:I can answer my own question didge. If such a job existed locally then yes I think he would take it.

Apparently such a basic task is beyond you.

And to answer your question didge, it is fine for anyone to choose to walk if they wish to. HOWEVER, it is not fine for someone to walk ONLY because they think they have no real alternative- then they are being indirectly forced to do something.

(see, I can answer a question directly, instead of just evading the truth).

Flawed answer again, that is you Eilzel.
Is it him or me?
No, you decide by your own subjective view to decide what it is for others, hence why you think two dimensionally.
He is not being forced to do anything, again he has a choice.
Wow caplocks, someone is upset lol.
It took you 4 posts to answer my question and as seen, then you failed.

I've used the capslock a lot didge in case you failed to notice- I use it to highlight key words in my point, not out of anger.

At least I answered your question, unlike yourself who just evaded it, even when I made it clear I was asking for your subjective view on what he might do.

Eilzel wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

Flawed answer again, that is you Eilzel.
Is it him or me?
No, you decide by your own subjective view to decide what it is for others, hence why you think two dimensionally.
He is not being forced to do anything, again he has a choice.
Wow caplocks, someone is upset lol.
It took you 4 posts to answer my question and as seen, then you failed.

I've used the capslock a lot didge in  case you failed to notice- I use it to highlight key words in my point, not out of anger.

At least I answered your question, unlike yourself who just evaded it, even when I made it clear I was asking for your subjective view on what he might do.

Please it is nothing more than showing a poster getting emotional mate, we both know that.
I answered your question, you though still fail to factor in what I want or this man wants, all you see is what you want.
Hence why your view is flawed.
So my view would be to walk and can you understand why?
Can you understand why he does.
The answer is in the article.

You would walk to a job 35 miles away instead of a job 30 minutes away that paid the same? Really?

And I'm afraid I'm not using it emotionally- maybe you do- but I use it to highlight key words when I feel someone is totally missing the point. If it was anger I'd be using them a lot more.

Eilzel wrote:You would walk to a job 35 miles away instead of a job 30 minutes away that paid the same? Really?

And I'm afraid I'm not using it emotionally- maybe you do- but I use it to highlight key words when I feel someone is totally missing the point. If it was anger I'd be using them a lot more.

Yep, as I used to walk miles before to a job, one of the best ways to unwind after work in fact. What if the job nearer even if it pays the same is a horrible place to work in the people are nasty and I know a place far better to work even if it is miles away?
You see you fail at every turn to understand being happy, you would walk 30 minutes and be unhappy. My day would be far longer yet I am very happy. You die of a heart attack at 60 through this stress and I live to be 90.
Did you factor in whether you would be happier working nearby?
I never use caplocks, only people emotional in a debate do, most people highlight the word like "this".

Well I'm afraid you are wrong about me, just your millionth false presumption of the evening.

And now I see you are just throwing put further hypothetic situations instead of just answering the most simple of questions. You know what I'm tired, so forget about it.

Eilzel wrote:Well I'm afraid you are wrong about me, just your millionth false presumption of the evening.

And now I see you are just throwing put further hypothetic situations instead of just answering the most simple of questions. You know what I'm tired, so forget about it.

How illogical.
Did you factor in the point of whether the job was good to work at?
No.
The key here is happiness.
You did not factor this, again.
I am tired of you getting angry over nothing as you are doing Eilzel.

Best wishes

Although as a friendly aside if any of the idiots on flap refers to you as a leftie again I'll be sure to link them to this thread ;-)

This story looks vaguely familiar:

Detroit Free Press wrote:Heart and sole: Detroiter walks 21 miles in work commute
By Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press 11:05 a.m. EST February 10, 2015



Leaving home in Detroit at 8 a.m., James Robertson doesn't look like an endurance athlete.

Pudgy of form, shod in heavy work boots, Robertson trudges almost haltingly as he starts another workday.

But as he steps out into the cold, Robertson, 56, is steeled for an Olympic-sized commute. Getting to and from his factory job 23 miles away in Rochester Hills, he'll take a bus partway there and partway home. And he'll also walk an astounding 21 miles.

Five days a week. Monday through Friday.

It's the life Robertson has led for the last decade, ever since his 1988 Honda Accord quit on him.

Every trip is an ordeal of mental and physical toughness for this soft-spoken man with a perfect attendance record at work. And every day is a tribute to how much he cares about his job, his boss and his coworkers. Robertson's daunting walks and bus rides, in all kinds of weather, also reflect the challenges some metro Detroiters face in getting to work in a region of limited bus service, and where car ownership is priced beyond the reach of many.

But you won't hear Robertson complain — nor his boss.

now you see you are all wrong...what I see wrong with it is brasidas seizing on a mote of dust and making a mountain of gold out of it....


here we have one tough individual....and I mean tough....

few on here I doubt could with stand that kind of regime, I mean be honest..how many of YOU lot could wakl 35 miles...not just once but every day non stop.....

BUT brasidas view is NOT that this guy is exceptional.....(which he is)

but that EVERY ONE should do it.....

except brasidas of course....


you would make a good victorian mill owner mate....

or a work house owner


get your bid in now matey ...its the future under the cons.....

though one does have to ask......

why dont he get a bike? 35 miles... about 3 to 3 1/2 hours

darknessss wrote:though one does have to ask......

why dont he get a bike?  35 miles... about 3 to 3 1/2 hours

Ah it is finally starting to sink in I see.
I have been waiting for this point.
Why has he not got a bike Victor, please ponder that point.

Actually that is completely wrong again Victor on the other points.
I posted this story for two reasons and was proven correct by the replies bar one posters.
 
All except one here saw the positives in this story, the rest only saw negativity not thinking of whether this man was happy but how they thought he would or should be happy based on their view of how someone should live their life.
That was the first failing on many posters here including yourself. Where they wrongly based a belief onto what is in their view right for others. This is a good news story and yet you are others seek to look only at the bad from a story which is what interests them more than the good. I find that very poor to say the least.


Second the point most people missed about this story.
It is not a first hand account of this story.
What is important here which also most people miseed trying to claim as per usual their high moral ground and judgement here?

Just one quick point: why do people keep saying that walking everyday will be "bad for his health"?

Walking is bloody good for you! Muscles, heart and lungs - all benefit.
And he will stay a lot fitter than most men his age who walk only 10 minutes a day.

eddie wrote:Just one quick point: why do people keep saying that walking everyday will be "bad for his health"?

Walking is bloody good for you! Muscles, heart and lungs - all benefit.
And he will stay a lot fitter than most men his age who walk only 10 minutes a day.

Eddie was the poster I was speaking of who sees the positive in a story.
Why did everyone else see more the negatives?

For those interested the first hand account:


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.


Simoff doesn't see himself as extraordinary. He lives here with his wife, Renee, and their grandson, Steven III, whom they adopted. In his mind, he merely takes the necessary steps — pun intended — to help his household scrape by.


"First of all, when you got a family, and you've got a job," he said, "you've got to be able to support your family. And you've got to keep your job — the most two important things I can think of."


KINDRED SOUL IN DETROIT


If Simoff's story has a familiar ring to it, it's because of his kindred soul in Detroit.


James Robertson, 56, made national headlines last month when it was revealed that he spent years walking 21 miles round trip through city streets to and from his factory job.


Instant fame bestowed both financial boon and inevitable complications. Robertson received a $350,000 windfall from a GoFundMe campaign and a new Ford Taurus. But he also had to move amid concerns that he'd become an easy target.


Now we have Robertson's rural Iowa doppelganger, also clinging to the socioeconomic fringe while hidden in plain sight as an extreme pedestrian commuter.


On average, Simoff says he catches rides perhaps three out of the five days during his Thursday-to-Tuesday work week. Sundays are the sparsest.


Some days, he might walk for only an hour or two. Other days, he might trudge along for six or more. Overall, he probably averages nearly four hours a day walking to work.


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.


Simoff has become "a public figure, but nobody really knows him," said Steven, 22, who has been unemployed since January. He considers his grandfather his hero. When Steven worked an overnight warehouse job for several months, the extra money meant the two of them could put gas in the minivan and carpool.


Unlike the Detroit commuter, Simoff doesn't blend into the city landscape among typical pedestrians.


But that also is an asset: Since he's more visible, Simoff benefits from sympathetic good Samaritans who stop and ask if he needs a lift. He doesn't thumb rides.


"It all depends on weather and what people feel like that day, if they're going to stop and pick you up," he said.


Simoff has cultivated a diverse patchwork of road friends in his on-and-off decade as southern Iowa's epic walker.


"He can't go into the grocery store without seeing one of them," Renee said.


On milder winter days, Simoff usually pulls on his pair of black SAS shoes, bundles in a warm coat and slaps a ballcap atop his thick head of salt-and-pepper hair. No gloves.


A RECENT COMMUTE


Register photographer Rodney White and I decided to join Simoff on one of his recent commutes.


• 3:30 p.m. — Simoff gave Renee a final kiss and stepped out into the crisp cold and bright sunshine. His weather-beaten face appears flaky red from sun and wind.


Early in his trek west along U.S. Highway 69 toward the interstate, Simoff walked along a narrow strip of pavement. Occasionally as traffic approached, he veered onto the gravel shoulder, following the tracks of Amish buggy wheels and horses' hooves.


He might spot the occasional lucky penny. But mostly, his commute is strewn with tire shreds, beer cans and fast-food debris.


• 4:10 p.m. — Sheena Melody Lee of rural Leon and her two great-grandsons were en route to the bank in Lamoni when they saw Simoff. She chauffeured him a couple miles along Highway 69 and dropped him off at the entrance ramp to I-35.


• 4:30 p.m. — Simoff strolled beneath the I-35 overpass at 280th St., about 51/2 miles into his commute. Cattle in a nearby field stared at him.


• 5:46 p.m. — He reached the stretch of I-35 where the median widens with a patch of timber. Simoff had walked fewer than 10 miles at this point. Minutes later, Emil Segebart pulled alongside Simoff in his Mercury sedan. Segebart, general manager of utilities in Lamoni, has been giving rides to Simoff for a decade and admires the man's fortitude.


"He's trying to earn a living," Segebart said. "That's how I look at it. You're trying to earn a living and doing what it takes. And this is what it takes."


Buy Photo


Steven Simoff of Davis City, Iowa leaves for work Friday Feb 13, 2015. Steven works at Lakeside Hotel and Casino in Osceola and walks the over 30 miles to work.  (Photo: Rodney White/The Register)


The two men met on an I-35 entrance ramp, "and we've been sort-of friends ever since," Simoff said, turning to Segebart. "I guess that's the way you'd classify us. Otherwise you wouldn't pick me up all the time."


• 6:12 p.m. — Since he wasn't in a hurry, Segebart went out of his way to drop off Simoff at the front door of the casino. On this day, the janitor had to trudge less than one-third the distance to work.


"Now all it is is the waiting game," Simoff said.


He wound his way into the bowels of the gambling complex. He poured a coffee and sat in the break room, where a free buffet and a blaring TV are provided for employees.


"It's just an iffy thing," he said of his commute. "Today I got lucky."


Julio Camacho works security at the casino.


"He's dedicated, and he works his buns off," Camacho said of Simoff. "If I see him, I pick him up."


The morning after White and I followed him, Simoff made it back to Davis City before 9:30 a.m.


PLAYING THE ROADSIDE ODDS


Simoff says he has walked in rain, sleet, even calf-deep snow.


His commute would be slightly shorter — and more scenic — if he headed straight north along U.S. Highway 69. But swinging west to the interstate offers higher traffic volume: For a guy who works at the casino, Simoff knows how to play the roadside odds.


"Everybody in the county knows him as far as I know," said Herbert Muir, who has been sheriff of Decatur County for 17 years. He and his deputies have given Simoff rides.


Muir first met Simoff after his office began receiving calls in winter "about a guy in black walking up the highway."


"There's no danger about him or anything," the sheriff added. "He's personable. He's not been in trouble. He just walks."


MONEY STILL TIGHT


Simoff says he's never been injured while walking to work. He still cuts a reasonably trim figure. A case of osteoarthritis in his right knee nags at him.


He's doesn't take any medication beyond the occasional aspirin or Tylenol. He swigs a lot of coffee. A lump of Grizzly Wintergreen Long Cut chewing tobacco tucked between his cheek and gums is his "only downfall," he says.


"I may have slowed up a heck, but it don't feel any different," he said of covering so much ground at his age. "I try to find my comfort zone."


Simoff also spends his eight-hour shift on his feet cleaning the casino, except for two 15-minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.


After Renee, 61, suffered a stroke nine years ago, walking became empowerment.


Hand-in-hand with her husband around Lamoni, in ever longer distances, Renee leveraged her stubbornness to retrain her body and brain to walk.


Renee then suffered a pair of heart attacks within the same day in 2010 and required heart bypass surgery.


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.


"When you add everything up, I feel like we're going broke," Renee said.


A RELIABLE EMPLOYEE


The couple is often asked why they haven't just moved closer to Simoff's job.


Renee's daughter, Melinda Lee, 40, lives in Truro. In the next year or two, the Simoffs may relocate closer to her.


"He's been a dad to me in every way possible since I was 15," Lee said of Simoff.


In this sense, the Simoffs' situation also seems to echo Robertson in Detroit: Low-wage earners may keep such a tenacious grip on any sort of stable housing — such a core sense of security — that they'll go to extraordinary lengths in their everyday routines.


Robertson more or less benefited from free housing in Detroit.


“If I don’t get to work, bills don’t get paid. As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don’t think I’ll change. ”


Steve Simoff


Monthly rent of $400 in Davis City is the Simoffs' biggest expense, followed by groceries.


Simoff has been a steady, reliable employee, cultivating a long career in security jobs. He worked at the casino from about 2000 to 2006, then got jobs at the detention center in Bethany, Mo., and at Graceland University in Lamoni before returning to the casino about five years ago.


Simoff is proud of every merit pin awarded by the casino, which he adds to his name badge.


"If I don't get to work," he said, "bills don't get paid. As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don't think I'll change."


MARATHON COMMUTERS


To be clear, Simoff didn't seek me out. I first heard about him after posting a link online to the story of the Detroit commuter.


There's a guy in southern Iowa who walks even farther, somebody told me on Twitter.


At first I couldn't believe it.


But when I began to independently poll some contacts in and around Decatur County, it seemed nearly everyone had heard of Simoff, seen him or given him a ride.


I stopped a woman at random in Davis City. Melissa Adams lives in Lamoni and was visiting town. She didn't remember Simoff's name or where he lived, but she had once given him a ride.


"It's amazing to me that he can actually walk that far," Adams said.


It's almost as if these marathon commuters — Simoff, Robertson and untold others — are all-too-visible illustrations of America's wider gulf between the haves and the have-nots.


And at some point, not even the most industrious, tireless walker is able to bridge the gap.

I see the fundemental points that everyone is making: this poor man....walking a long way, he shouldn't have to, bad people running the counrty etc etc, but the main point is this wasn't reported as being a negative story - it was almot a story about one mans Lee, which, whilst tough, made him content.

Perhaps I'm deluded but that's what I saw?

Im sure other jobs have come up near to where he lives but perhaps he's tunred them down?

eddie wrote:Just one quick point: why do people keep saying that walking everyday will be "bad for his health"?

Walking is bloody good for you! Muscles, heart and lungs - all benefit.
And he will stay a lot fitter than most men his age who walk only 10 minutes a day.

because edds dear...he will have the lungs of a beast the heart of a lion
muscles like a gorilla......

and joints like a cheese grater......

of course when he's 71 and cant move....

then he will be demoted from "hero" to scrounger...

a good target for the tory boys.....

yes walking IS good for you....despite arthritis (which is mainly inflamatory in nature so painfull but walking doesnt cause more damage....) i usually amnage about 4 miles a day just working....

and on days off...especially when shooting i often walk 10-12 miles.....

but MODERATION in all things....

just because walking is good doesnt mean the excessive walking is good.....

darknessss wrote:now you see you are all wrong...what I see wrong with it is brasidas seizing on a mote of dust and making a mountain of gold out of it....


here we have one tough individual....and I mean tough....

few on here I doubt could with stand that kind of regime, I mean be honest..how many of YOU lot could wakl 35 miles...not just once but every day non stop.....

BUT brasidas view is NOT that this guy is exceptional.....(which he is)

but that EVERY ONE should do it.....

except brasidas of course....


you would make a good victorian mill owner  mate....

or a work house owner


get your bid in now matey ...its the future under the cons.....

THIS................................above

eddie wrote:I see the fundemental points that everyone is making: this poor man....walking a long way, he shouldn't have to, bad people running the counrty etc etc,  but the main point is this wasn't reported as being a negative story - it was almot a story about one mans Lee, which, whilst tough, made him content.

Perhaps I'm deluded but that's what I saw?

Im sure other jobs have come up near to where he lives but perhaps he's tunred them down?

You see things in a positive life, others do not, because you have higher emotional intelligence than many others here.
They are no where near the same level and why they see so much negativity all the time.

Brasidas wrote:

Eilzel wrote:

Show we EXACTLY where I see that.

Oh that's right I didn't say that- of course I wouldn't take away his freedom fgs

However if I were running the country I would be making sure he had a job to go to close to home (if he chose to)- so he wouldn't HAVE to make such a decision.

Of course you'd rather businesses could do what they like a expect the earth from people- good old exploitative capitalist you are eh didge

Of course you would if you had the means of power Eilzel, this is what left wing views do, they seek to impose their views onto others as they have always done.
You just proved my point afterwards, in your next sentence.
You would make sure he worked closer to home, again gtaking away his choice.
You see this is why socialism is enforcement, it takes away his choice to decide.

Then your last sentence is just you getting upset, that I am showing your views to be wrong. lol Seriously calm down mate.

dont be a plonker didge....what part have you missed .....oh YES thats it......the bit where EIL said (if he chose to)

its not the left that dictate circumstances like this ...it is the right....

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud.....

darknessss wrote:

Brasidas wrote:



Of course you would if you had the means of power Eilzel, this is what left wing views do, they seek to impose their views onto others as they have always done.
You just proved my point afterwards, in your next sentence.
You would make sure he worked closer to home, again gtaking away his choice.
You see this is why socialism is enforcement, it takes away his choice to decide.

Then your last sentence is just you getting upset, that I am showing your views to be wrong. lol Seriously calm down mate.

dont be a plonker didge....what part have you missed .....oh YES thats it......the bit where EIL said (if he chose to)

its not the left that dictate circumstances like this ...it is the right....

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud.....

Oh more political ideals which are as bad as religious ones, where you are led by negativity and pessimism Victor which is your failing I am afraid. You fail to see good in life and wish to be dictated by what is bad in life that you can never see the positivity in many things.
I know why I posted this and all the lefties you the most socislist of them all jumps on the negativity.
The two center right people saw the positivity, which shows why the left have soi many failings and why the left can be as intolerant as the far right. The more left someone is the more intolerant they are.
There are plenty of jobs at the moment it is people with your poor work erthos that choose not to take them on.

By the way I am no hardcore Tory, I choose to vote for them because there is nothing better and I know what will bring better exonomic stability, the left never bring about this or any future prospect, just misery.

Brasidas wrote:

darknessss wrote:

dont be a plonker didge....what part have you missed .....oh YES thats it......the bit where EIL said (if he chose to)

its not the left that dictate circumstances like this ...it is the right....

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud.....

Oh more political ideals which are as bad as religious ones, where you are led by negativity and pessimism Victor which is your failing I am afraid. You fail to see good in life and wish to be dictated by what is bad in life that you can never see the positivity in many things.
I know why I posted this and all the lefties you the most socislist of them all jumps on the negativity.
The two center right people saw the positivity, which shows why the left have soi many failings and why the left can be as intolerant as the far right. The more left someone is the more intolerant they are.
There are plenty of jobs at the moment it is people with your poor work erthos that choose not to take them on.

oh piss off with the arrogance trip didge....

I dont sa he "should or should not..." IF he has a choice


what I object to in all this is

"now you see you are all wrong...what I see wrong with it is brasidas seizing on a mote of dust and making a mountain of gold out of it....


here we have one tough individual....and I mean tough....

few on here I doubt could with stand that kind of regime, I mean be honest..how many of YOU lot could wakl 35 miles...not just once but every day non stop.....

BUT brasidas view is NOT that this guy is exceptional.....(which he is)

but that EVERY ONE should do it.....

except brasidas of course....


you would make a good victorian mill owner mate....

or a work house owner


get your bid in now matey ...its the future under the cons....."

Moreover this

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud....

is correct....


and "there are plenty of jobs" is rubbish........ in fact its a downright LIE.....

they tory boys DONT want full employment...its anathema to them....

good god just think...if there was FULL employment the drones would get uppity and REALLY apply market tactics to the jobs market...they may even demand decent pay and conditions.... cant have that old bean...just think what it will do to our overloaded pockets.....

Brasidas wrote:By the way I am no hardcore Tory, I choose to vote for them because there is nothing better and I know what will bring better exonomic stability, the left never bring about this or any future prospect, just misery.

Now THAT we can agree on...with certainty

trouble is with the tory boys...economic stability consists of another sort of misery and an even worse fiscal turpitude

there IS a better way.....

darknessss wrote:

Brasidas wrote:

Oh more political ideals which are as bad as religious ones, where you are led by negativity and pessimism Victor which is your failing I am afraid. You fail to see good in life and wish to be dictated by what is bad in life that you can never see the positivity in many things.
I know why I posted this and all the lefties you the most socislist of them all jumps on the negativity.
The two center right people saw the positivity, which shows why the left have soi many failings and why the left can be as intolerant as the far right. The more left someone is the more intolerant they are.
There are plenty of jobs at the moment it is people with your poor work erthos that choose not to take them on.

oh piss off with the arrogance trip didge....

I dont sa he "should or should not..." IF he has a choice


what I object to in all this is

"now you see you are all wrong...what I see wrong with it is brasidas seizing on a mote of dust and making a mountain of gold out of it....


here we have one tough individual....and I mean tough....

few on here I doubt could with stand that kind of regime, I mean be honest..how many of YOU lot could wakl 35 miles...not just once but every day non stop.....

BUT brasidas view is NOT that this guy is exceptional.....(which he is)

but that EVERY ONE should do it.....

except brasidas of course....


you would make a good victorian mill owner  mate....

or a work house owner


get your bid in now matey ...its the future under the cons....."

Moreover  this

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud....

is correct....


and "there are plenty of jobs" is rubbish........ in fact its a downright LIE.....

they tory boys DONT want full employment...its anathema to them....

good god just think...if there was FULL employment   the drones would get uppity and REALLY apply market tactics to the jobs market...they may even demand decent pay and conditions.... cant have that old bean...just think what it will do to our overloaded pockets.....

I rest my case on the socialists being as intolerant as Nazis.
I need not say anymore.
You can keep missing the point why I posted this story and why you continue to fail to understand this because you are led by continual negative views, that is what your failing is Victor and why you fail badly on making your point as the left often do.
I never used to be intolerant then I became intolerant taking on board such left wing views to my error. Now I see more than anything it is the left that just do not want to listen to others with their views.
Again this man does not see himself as special. He simply wants to provide for his family. You though wrongly look into this more to make some moral argument to make the left wing view look good which means little to this man or where he would not even care for your view.
He simply believes in helping his family and will do what it takes to do so.
Is it right he has to travel so far to do this?
No, but that was never the point I set out to make and I was happy to push those on the left because they only care for their views and not anyone else's.
There is plenty of jobs, do you want to see how many are out there, have you even bothered to look or do you continue to live in a bubble?

Brasidas wrote:

darknessss wrote:

oh piss off with the arrogance trip didge....

I dont sa he "should or should not..." IF he has a choice


what I object to in all this is

"now you see you are all wrong...what I see wrong with it is brasidas seizing on a mote of dust and making a mountain of gold out of it....


here we have one tough individual....and I mean tough....

few on here I doubt could with stand that kind of regime, I mean be honest..how many of YOU lot could wakl 35 miles...not just once but every day non stop.....

BUT brasidas view is NOT that this guy is exceptional.....(which he is)

but that EVERY ONE should do it.....

except brasidas of course....


you would make a good victorian mill owner  mate....

or a work house owner


get your bid in now matey ...its the future under the cons....."

Moreover  this

the tory boys "lets make SURE there are insufficient jobs about for people....then lets demonise them for not working...all so we can rob them blind and let our pals get away with what amounts to fraud....

is correct....


and "there are plenty of jobs" is rubbish........ in fact its a downright LIE.....

they tory boys DONT want full employment...its anathema to them....

good god just think...if there was FULL employment   the drones would get uppity and REALLY apply market tactics to the jobs market...they may even demand decent pay and conditions.... cant have that old bean...just think what it will do to our overloaded pockets.....

I rest my case on the socialists being as intolerant as Nazis.
I need not say anymore.
You can keep missing the point why I posted this story and why you continue to fail to understand this because you are led by continual negative views, that is what your failing is Victor and why you fail badly on making your point as the left often do.
I never used to be intolerant then I became intolerant taking on board such left wing views to my error. Now I see more than anything it is the left that just do not want to listen to others with their views.
Again this man does not see himself as special. He simply wants to provide for his family. You though wrongly look into this more to make some moral argument to make the left wing view look good which means little to this man or where he would not even care for your view.
He simply believes in helping his family and will do what it takes to do so.
Is it right he has to travel so far to do this?
No, but that was never the point I set out to make and I was happy to push those on the left because they only care for their views and not anyone else's.
There is plenty of jobs, do you want to see how many are out there, have you even bothered to look or do you continue to live in a bubble?

ok then dont answer the challenge...kind makes my point for me....


as for plenty of jobs...hmmm ...lets see.....

What challenge?
The above was points of view, there was not a single question asked

   IT WOULD TAKE a fit person around ten hours to walk 35 miles, on average ~ give or take !

LOOKING at his strolling along there, probably more like twelve hours..     Maybe fifteen hours, with rest stops ~ and THAT'S each way !

THAT'S up to 30 Hours of his day already taken up with walking - IF he is unlucky enough as to miss that lift home from a fellow worker..        

AND THEN the story doesn't tell us whether he does 8 hour or 12 hour shifts, but all the same ~ HOW MANY people here could manage a 42 hour day, if everything went wrong all at once occasionally ?!?

AND THEN there's the small matter of Steve only earning only $9 USD an hour !    
AND HERE I was, thinking that the US minimum wage was more like $11 an hour ???

NOT TO worry, though..   Just as long as Didge reckons that Mr. Simoff is on a good wicket !
I HAVE to wonder just how you might survive on less than $400 a week, Didge ~ wouldn't have much left to live on, after paying for accommodation, transport, regular bills..

EVEN IF most others here do find his situation just a bit unsettling, and a disgraceful reflection of the current anti-worker malaise infesting American society..      

Lone Wolf wrote:

IT WOULD TAKE a fit person ten hours to walk 35 miles !

LOOKING at his strolling along there, probably more like twelve hours..     Maybe fifteen hours, with rest stops ~ and THAT'S each way !

THAT'S up to 30 Hours of his day already taken up with walking - IF he is unlucky enough as to miss that lift home..

AND THEN the story doesn't tell us whether he does 8 hour or 12 hour shifts, but all the same ~ HOW MANY people here could manage a 42 hour day, if everything went wrong all at once occasionally ?!?


AND THEN there's the small matter of Steve only earning only $9 USD an hour !    
AND HERE I was, thinking that the US minimum wage was more like $11 an hour ???

NOT TO worry, though..   Just as long as Didge reckons that Mr. Simoff is on a good wicket !

EVEN IF most others here do find his situation just a bit unsettling, and a disgraceful reflection of the current anti-worker malaise infesting American society..        

So you are basically calling him a liar then?
Did you see what time he left and what time he gets there, so your view to how long it would take is wrong.
Maths not your strong point I guess Bee.
Another left wing poster proving they only think with negativity.
How many more will prove my point?

from the ONS (independant and open please note didge)


There were 718,000 job vacancies for November 2014 to January 2015.

there are

1.04 million unemployed men,

822,000 unemployed women,
so roughly
2 million unemployed (not counting those considered economically "inactive" ie not working OR recieving benefits)

unemployed for this purpose id defined as

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks.


so 3 people for each job...


hmm thats "plenty" then....

of course if we ALSO include all those idle "sick" layabouts (you know the ones....the terminal cancer sufferers, they dying cardiac cases, the folks with severe mental health problems.... ) then its much greater

this is without factoring in that many of the jobs are where the unemployed are NOT

of course they can all walk 35 miles every day cant they....idle gits.....

YOU THINK you can keep up a pace of 5 miles an hour for 7 hours at a stretch, Didgeri' ?

I'D LIKE to see that !!


HAVE YOU ever checked your own walking pace ?

DO YOU even know what average walking speeds are ?

HAVE YOU ever walked more than 2 or 3 miles at a time ?


YOU really don't have much of a clue, do you Didge !?!

Lone Wolf wrote:

YOU THINK you can keep up a pace of 5 miles an hour for 7 hours at a stretch, Didgeri' ?

HAVE YOU ever checked your own walking pace ?

DO YOU even know what average walking speeds are ?

HAVE YOU ever walked more than 2 or 3 miles at a time ?


YOU really don't have much of a clue, do you Didge !?!

Yes I walk at around 5 miles per hour bee sometimes faster.
Top walkers do 8 miles per hour
Maths not your strong point is it mate. lol
So again are you calling him a liar mate?

darknessss wrote:from the ONS (independant and open please note didge)


There were 718,000 job vacancies for November 2014 to January 2015.

there are

   1.04 million unemployed men,

   822,000 unemployed women,
so roughly
2 million unemployed (not counting those considered economically "inactive"   ie not working OR recieving benefits)

unemployed for this purpose id defined as

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks.


so 3 people for each job...


hmm  thats "plenty" then....

of course if we ALSO include all those idle "sick" layabouts (you know the ones....the terminal cancer sufferers, they dying cardiac cases, the folks with severe mental health problems.... ) then its much greater

this is without factoring in that many of the jobs   are where the unemployed are NOT

of course they can all walk 35 miles every day cant they....idle gits.....

So you are saying that over 700,000 jobs is not plenty of Jobs?
Now explain why this is very consistant opver the year and that out of the 1.9 million they are not all filled?