JUST weeks after a man made national headlines because of his 21-mile (34-km) trek to work, it transpires that another man sets off on foot each day to walk 35 miles (56 km) to his job.

    Steven Simoff works as an overnight janitor at Lakeside Casino in Osceola, Iowa, but lives in Davis City, Iowa.

    In order for Simoff, 61, to get to work for his 11 p.m. shift he leaves his home at 3:30 p.m. and walks along Interstate Highway 35.

    Simoff lives with his wife, Renee, who receives Supplemental Security Income and their 22-year-old grandson, Steven, who is currently unemployed.

    Earning US$9.07-per-hour in his casino job, Simoff says his family can’t afford to live closer to his job and live in Davis City because their rent is just US$400 per month.

    Simoff owns a 2002 Ford Windstar minivan, but says he can rarely afford to buy gas for it.

    “First of all, when you got a family, and you’ve got a job, you’ve got to be able to support your family. And you’ve got to keep your job — the most two important things I can think of,” he told the Des Moines Register.

    Simoff’s daily trek beats that undertaken by James Robertson, 56, from Detroit who received a US$350,000 from a GoFundMe campaign and a new Ford Taurus after his plight received national media attention.

    Although Simoff’s journey is longer, he told the Register that he can typically catch a lift three out of five days. He works Thursday-to-Tuesday and says that Sundays are typically the worst for trying to catch a lift.

    On average Simoff spends nearly four hours a day walking to work.

    “It all depends on weather and what people feel like that day, if they’re going to stop and pick you up,” he said.

    On his way home, Simoff is able to hitch a ride most of the way home with a co-worker who lives in Leon, leaving him eight miles to walk.

    “He’s trying to earn a living,” said Emil Segebart, who has been giving rides to Simoff for a decade.

    “That’s how I look at it. You’re trying to earn a living and doing what it takes. And this is what it takes.”

    Once in work Simoff has to spend his eight-hour shift on his feet cleaning the casino, except for two 15-minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.

    Despite his advancing years he says he’s never been injured while walking to work and the only medication he takes is the occasional aspirin or Tylenol.

    “If I don’t get to work,” he said, “bills don’t get paid. As long as my two feet are good and my health is good, I don’t think I’ll change.”

    (SD-Agencies)