Chasing The Story
It was a Monday, a day like any other day, when I got a call from Patty Jackson about a man walking barefoot across the United States. She met him at Malee’s restaurant in Stockton and thought he would make an excellent human-interest story for the Sentinel. I thought so too, but I was the only one at the office at the time, so I told her I didn’t think it was possible to meet with him. After hanging up the phone and thinking about it and what she said, I felt pretty dumb. He was literally across the street, and I had missed the chance to set up an interview. Also, by that time, I had looked up the “Barefoot Dutchman” and thought I really blew it since his story and cause about men’s mental health awareness are so interesting.
Needless to say, I called Patty back, and she said he had already left and she didn’t know where he had gone. I told Bart about it and how sick I was that I missed the opportunity to visit with that person. It was a lesson learned, with Bart saying that if that ever happened again, I should just put a sign on the door if I had to leave to get the story. I thought that was the end of it, but I still felt bad that I let such a great article slip through my fingers.
But, as luck would have it, Anton was still in town that night! Bart saw him walking by the Stockton City Park, and then he and Susan met up with him by the Stockton sign on Main Street. They stopped and visited with Anton, Merel, and Oreo for a while, with Susan taking a few pictures. Susan thought it was too late at night to contact me about setting up an interview, so she told Anton we would call him the next day on WhatsApp.
Susan and I called him on Tuesday afternoon while he was walking east toward Woodston and Alton. We visited with him for over an hour in what has been one of the most interesting interviews I have ever been a part of. And it didn’t stop there! Susan, Keely, and I then loaded up in her car to chase him down so we could get a few more pictures of him while he was walking on the highway and a few pictures of his feet!
Yes, we stopped on the side of the road to get pictures for the paper, and of course, I took a selfie with him. We didn’t want to keep him stopped for too long because he was on a steady pace to walk his set miles for the day and get to his next destination. So after Susan got her pictures, we shook hands with him, wishing him well and letting him know he would be in our prayers for the rest of his journey.
On our way back to town I told Susan it worked out so much better to hold the interview over the phone and then chase Anton down for pictures than it would have been to walk across the street when I first got the call! Ha!
I hope you all read my article about Anton and decide to donate to the cause because I would love to see him reach his dream of a million-dollar goal!
(And for those who got it, yes, I referenced the band Foreigner in my opening line, as well as a line from “Con Air!”)
