By James Massara
CCN News Director
BUCYRUS — A Pennsylvania man made a stop in Bucyrus on Tuesday afternoon while on a mission to cross the United States to prove to his kids that there are good people in the world.
Jim Smith started his journey in York, Pennsylvania and is heading to San Francisco. He is two-and-a-half weeks into the journey he suspects will take until December.
Smith said the idea for the walk came after he realized his lifestyle was toxic and was changing him as a person and influencing how his children saw the world.
On his website, Smith recalled walking with his daughter on day, when she said, “Dad, you’re right. People do suck.”
After that day, Smith quit his job supervising distribution plants, the job that contributed to his negative outlook on life, and began to plan his walk across America.
“I could work two or three jobs every day and buy my kids everything they wanted,” Smith said. “And maybe when they graduate high school, they’d say that I was a great dad. But, showing them that there are good people in this world is the greatest gift that I can give them.”
“This is a humanitarian walk,” Smith said. “I was told that other people have crossed the country before, but this isn’t about me. This is to show that there are still good people in this world that are willing to help others.”
That desire inspired Smith’s movement Point the Thumb. Point the Thumb is focused on taking responsibilities in one’s own actions.
“You can always say, ‘well he did this and she did that,’ but the first question you should ask is, ‘did I do anything to cause this,’” Smith said.
Smith said the people are what make the trip and all the walking tolerable.
“The walk itself is actually a grind and pretty fruitless,” Smith said. “But the people are great. It’s a high when you get to meet people.”
He also speaks to his kids three to four times a day.
Smith told a story about a couple in their late-70s from Greensburg, Pennsylvania who saw a newspaper article and contacted the reporter to get into touch with Smith and let him stay with them.
“They made me feel like a son or a brother, and I consider them friends now,” he said. “It’s impressive how people can impact each other in a day-and-a-half.”
The desire to meet people one the journey is one factor that called for a change in Smith’s route.
“I originally was going to take Route 30 the whole way, but now I’ll probably hit Chicago and St. Louis and travel on Route 66,” Smith said. “Part of that is to avoid the mountains in October and November and walk in the desert, but also because I could walk for miles on the bypass and never meet anyone. That’s not what this is about.”
Smith said his wants to stop by specific places like Ferguson and Joplin, both in Missouri.
“I like to give perspective on things,” Smith said. “Not change anyone’s opinion, but rather make them just think of things a different way. I’m a middle-aged white guy. How can I talk about low-income inner-city life unless I witness it? How can I talk about a town ravaged by a storm unless I go there and talk to the people?”
Smith has a plan to take the stories of the people he meets on the journey, and write a book about everyone he meets.
“I think this will end up being a really good story to tell,” he said.
He added that a friend started a GoFundMe page, but Smith would not allow it to benefit him personally.
“I lost a brother to cancer, so St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is very close to me,” Smith said.
He said his goal would be to donate $100,000 to both St. Jude’s and Disabled Veterans of America.
He said he makes his way through the journey by the kindness of people offering him a meal or letting him stay on their couch or a spare bed.
He admitted he had not even been saving for a plane ticket home at the end, and was preparing to lose his house and one of his cars.
“It’s not about trying to make money on this,” Smith said. “It’s about showing the good in the world.”
Smith’s next stops in Ohio include Upper Sandusky, Dunkirk and Beaverdam.
He said most of the people he has met on the trip, so far, make him believe that he will be OK, and will find people to help from town to town.
Anyone wishing to help Smith, may contact him through his website and may follow his progress through his Facebook page.