Have you ever just wanted to stop what you’re doing, get up, walk out the door and just keep walking? I know I have. I’m not sure if that’s how it went for Hakim Maloum, but last year with just $217 in his pocket he left Union Square, New York, and began walking.
In his series, ‘Interviews 50 cents,’ NPR’s Alex Chadwick happened to meet Hakim Maloum on Venice Beach Boardwalk, Los Angeles, as the Algerian born resident of New Jersey had just come to the end of an epic walk across America. It was a journey of some 3300 miles that had taken the 31 year old five months and thirteen days to complete.
“I just packed a backpack and put it on my back.” Said Maloum who described himself as 45 pounds overweight at the time he left the east coast bound for the west coast. He had rules too. “I couldn’t ask for any help, including asking for food, water, money, nothing.” He explained, adding that he could ask for water if he hadn’t had any for two hours.
He wasn’t sponsored and didn’t have an organisation behind him, he was just a guy who decided to walk across the United States and rely simply on the kindness of strangers, eating meals with strangers, and staying in the homes of people he had only just met.
“It’s really amazing. The story is not about me but about the American people and how much help I got from them.” He told Alex Chadwick. “I knew people would help. I just didn’t know this magnitude.” He continued.
It wasn’t easy of course, walking across the entire stretch of the United States wouldn’t be. Along the way he was almost electrocuted by lightning in Texas, lost a brand new pair of shoes in knee-deep mud, got shot at by a some guy with a BB gun, and had a bottle of beer thrown at him. However, on his journey he experienced the magic of kindness. People he didn’t know gave him drinks, made him food, washed his clothes and gave him places to sleep.
He eventually arrived in California where he told Susan Derby, of the LA Times, that he hoped to get a job and maybe stay around for a couple of months to explore the place. After that he had no plans.
“If you really want to get up and do something you really could.” He told Alex Chadwick as they sat across a small table from one another that afternoon on Venice Beach Boardwalk. “Everything else is just excuses.”
There seems to be no information about what Hakim is doing now. Maybe he spent a few weeks checking out Los Angeles and now he’s walking back to New Jersey? Whatever he’s doing I hope and suspect he’s following his heart, after all, as he said “Everything else is just excuses.”
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Hakim Maloum’s very long walk
Q&A with Hakim Maloum
Good magazine on ‘The Walk’
Well dressed wisdom
Crazy in love
Married five times
Wrote the following comment on Apr 23, 2009 at 9:49 pm
That’s super interesting. I had a friend that intended to walk from Seattle to Minneapolis, sometimes camping, sometimes staying with people via couchsurfing.com. He made a rule that he would only hitchhike when walking was impossible. He ended up getting driven a lot more than he wanted to I think, but still, the goal itself was amazing to me.
I’m always intrigued by people that can do such things. I’m too lazy to walk across the f***ing USA, but wow, what a journey that would be, both physically and mentally. :)
Wrote the following comment on Apr 23, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I wonder what drove him to get up and walk though? You would think something must have happened. People don’t just get up pack a bag and leave their jobs/home/friends/family and go walking thousands of miles for months on end do they. Something happened to this man I think, something that maybe needed a 3300 mile walk to resolve or come to terms with.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 1:58 am
i dont get why he did it. walking is slow.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 8:27 am
I’m with Yin. $217 is more than enough for bus fair or, here in the UK, a cab ride to the bottom of the street.
However, inspired by this tale I’ve decided not to get the train to see you tomorrow and instead I intend to walk.
See you in five months ;-)
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 9:59 am
Sigh…
I often feel like doing something like this (but I am way too lazy to walk that far).
Doing something like that to me is escapism. I know when I packed up and travelled the world that it had a lot to do with escapism. Unfortunately the urge to do it again is coming back and I think right now it would be a foolish thing for me to do. Better to deal with the stuff then run away again. Much harder as well…
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 10:17 am
I guess he didn’t really plan it this way, but it would have been good if he had a website with a GPS tracker so you could see where he was. He should have blogged, twittered, and taken pictures too. But maybe that just goes to prove that I need to unplug like he did.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I am not surprised that he experienced the kindness of strangers…I know a guy that left his comfortable home in England and flew across “the pond” to Katrina devastated Mississippi to help strangers recover. It was hot, humid, he slept in a campsite hut with more strangers, and he worked hard! All he got in return was heartfelt thanks.
For those of you who don’t know, that guy is Simon; and I was one of the recipients of his kindness…and I am so glad that you are no longer a stranger! When you get inspired to go on that walk, Simon, call me, I’ll walk with you.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Yin, Peter, sometimes its not about how fast you get somewhere :-)
I’m also not surprised by the kindness of strangers. People will tell you this is a dangerous world full of terrorists, murderers and pedophiles, in reality, by and large the world is full of nice decent people like you and me
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Wow. Crazy. I wish I could do that.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 5:52 pm
As a teenager, I read Peter Jenkin’s book about a similar journey several times. A Walk Across America is the title. It was very inspirational; the section on Appalachia was especially memorable, describing both the incredible poverty and the kindness and generosity of the locals. I think it was written in the 70s.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 6:15 pm
An another awesome post from Simon Jones. Thanks for sharing this inspiring story.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 6:50 pm
@ Susan – Thank you for those kind words. I didn’t really do that much, in fact I think I spent most of my time building a shed (inside out to begin with) that just blew away in the very next storm!
I think kindness is one of those things that gives back to you. Look at all the miserable people you know and I bet you that their kindness is around about the same level as their happiness.
@ BellaGeek – I believe Hakim did have a website at paintatlas.com, however the domain has expired now so whatever was there is gone. That’s a shame because it seems that just over a year after he started his walk, the world wide web and the collective conscience of the world has almost completely forgotten about Hakim’s walk.
I suspect he’s not overly concerned with that, he seems to me to be the kind of guy who spends little time plugged into the world in that way, but still, for those of us who are plugged in, it’s a shame his walk is fading so fast.
Wrote the following comment on Apr 24, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Didn’t Forrest Gump do something like this?
He [Hakim] said in one of the interviews you linked to that he “was bored and tired of talk.”
Maybe he had facebook burnout too Simon! Maybe you’re just a few weeks, days, or even hours away from just getting up and walking across the entire width of England. Man, just imagine all the stories you would have from those couple of days!