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Just passing through, but making a difference
By MONIQUE FIELDS
© St. Petersburg Times,
For those counting, that's about 226,000 miles, or about nine times around the Earth's equator. His odyssey started back in India seven years ago. He was on his death bed, sick from malaria and a bout with Hepatitis A. He scanned his life. "There was simply nothing I had done for anybody," he said. "My input was simply zippo, and that had to change." He recovered from his illnesses, trimmed down from 250 pounds to 165 pounds and set out to see the world and make a difference. He would walk and share a message of giving back to anyone who would listen. He trekked from India to Spain. He hiked through Europe and traced the outer edge of Australia. On Jan. 6, he left New York on the U.S. leg of his tour. The 31-year-old writer, photographer and globetrotter from Stuttgart, Germany, is passing through Pinellas County this week on his way to the Florida Panhandle. Wednesday's stop: Clearwater. He saw the city from a different angle from most of its residents. "I walked through it," he said. "It's very peaceful." He took in views of the Gulf of Mexico for a day, before it was time to walk north on treacherous U.S. 19 to Tarpon Springs. In good weather, he can log 18 to 20 miles a day. So far, he has walked 32,000 miles. He has a long way to go, though: 194,000 miles to be exact. From the Panhandle, he will head west across Louisiana, Mississippi and into Texas. He will ramble through New Mexico, Utah and Nevada before finding his way to California. He will then turn north toward Seattle and scale the U.S. and Canadian border back to New York.
It's an isolated task. He takes breaks every six months or so to see his family. As for a love interest, the divorcee said there isn't one. He is sponsored by AOL Germany, where he posts daily reports on his adventures, and LOWA Boots, an outfitter created 75 years ago in Munich, Germany, which keeps him in walking gear. Simon is taking in America. His head has bobbed in thick fog, through thunderstorms and under scorching sunlight. Hot or cold, he wears a white T-shirt, black pants and a black hat he picked up in Australia. He has befriended thousands with his blue eyes and his German accent. Since he began his journey, he has been offered three Thanksgiving dinner invitations. Still, he has noticed something about Americans. People look him over with suspicion, keep their distance, don't help until he cleans up and utters the letters A-O-L. That's the hard part of his venture. "It hurts," he said. They also wonder what drives a man to roam the Earth on foot. Some shed their fear and offer up to help him. He often surprises them. "You can't help me," he tells them. What follows is a sermon about helping their communities. "My cause is to make people think and then donate money into their own towns and cities, to Clearwater charities, to Tarpon Springs charities, to St. Petersburg charities. Don't give the money away. There is a lot to be done here." He is not just talking. He has donated more than $70,000 to children's charities in three years. Last week, he donated $10,000 to the Gulf Ridge Council of Boy Scouts. He sold his 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 to Jerry Ulm Dodge in Tampa for $9,000 and pitched in an extra $1,000 of his own money. "I'm a guest," he said. "I want to leave something in this country." - Bert Simon can be reached at KingofWalk@aol.com or visit his Web site at www.bertsimon.com. -- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
