College student from New Orleans walked 20 miles to 1st day of work so his boss gave him his car

https://www.nola.com ^ | 7/17/18 | Carol Robinson

[BBell]

When a young Birmingham college student's car broke down the night before he was supposed to start a new job, he didn't panic. At least not for long.

Instead, Walter Carr walked. From Homewood to Pelham. All night. In the dark. 20 miles or more.

A Carver High School graduate and U.S. Marine hopeful, Carr walked throughout the early morning hours Friday because he needed, and wanted, the job with Bellhops moving company. He made it to Hoover by 2 a.m. and then to Pelham at 4 a.m.

It was in Pelham that the trek took a surprising turn. Kindness and concern from four Pelham police officers coupled with publicly posted words of amazement and admiration from the moving company's clients about Carr's work ethic and dedication, led to a massive pat on the back Monday from Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin.

Marklin drove in from Tennessee under the guise of meeting Carr for coffee to personally thank him. That meeting ended with Marklin surprising Carr by giving Carr his own barely-driven 2014 Ford Escape.

-snip-

"He WALKED ALL NIGHT to get from Homewood to Pelham. Because he needed to get to work. For those reading this that are not local, that's over 20 miles. 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,'' she wrote. "The police officer said they picked him up earlier that morning, took him to get some breakfast and once they checked his story out, brought Walter to our house."

Jenny Lamey said Carr was welcome to stay until the rest of the Bellhops crew arrived, and even offered him the chance to go upstairs and take a nap until then.

[moovova]

It just surprises me how quickly the funds can add up...especially in well-deserved situations.

[BBell]

The kid I mentioned lost his new Browning shotgun that he saved his money for and bought with his dad and grandpa. The weapon was in a case so it was found down stream later but was water and mud damaged. Browning offered to repair the weapon free of charge or give him a new one if it the weapon was beyond fixing. The kid said he would not take the money and I don't know if he ultimately did or not.

If anyone asks me if I have any weapons I will tell them I lost them in a boating accident while saving some drowning kids. I will say it jokingly of course.

[beergarden]

Ah I see, thanks for the info.

[Preachin']

This is awesome!!

[BBell]

That is funny. When I was young the only ones that helped college kids move were parents. You have to wonder how many of these kids who hired a mover have student debt loans.

The Bellhops founder found a niche and exploited it. Ain't capitalism great?

[deport]

I’m not sure what all the students have that needs a mover.
In my day I could take everything I had at college and put
it in the trunk and back seat and still have room.

[BBell]

I know when college lets out in the spring there are refrigerators galore for free and lots of good deals to be had. My dumb boy sold his 44 inch flat screen with a very nice well built TV stand for $80 bucks. I'm still mad about that.

We should have got him a cheap TV stand but we thought he would keep this one for years. I guess the future grandkids are out one TV stand (;>)