James Roberts has a brand-new job, and he says it’s all thanks to a mystery New York City police officer who gave him a lift after he got lost on his way to the interview, CBS2 reports.
Roberts, from the city’s Bronx borough, misunderstood the location of the job interview and ultimately got lost, much to his horror.
“They said ‘airport,’ so I’m thinking ‘airport,’” Roberts told the news station.
But when he got off the bus at LaGuardia Airport, in the city’s borough of Queens, he realized his mistake. Although the actual job was with rental-car companies near the airport, the interview was at Cavalry Staffing, also in Queens, but some 6 miles away.
“I’m at the airport, [to] find Cavalry Staffing—was I wrong,” he said. “I’m actually crying inside because [if] I want this job, I gotta be there at a certain time.”
That was when a police officer noticed him and asked him what was wrong. Roberts asked for directions, and the officer told him how far it was. Roberts, however, was determined. He was desperate after struggling for years to find work because he has a record. America Works, an organization that helps hard-to-place workers, actually helped him secure the interview.
“I said, ‘I don’t care, I need this job, I’ll walk there.’ He said, ‘What time you gotta be there?’ I said, ‘I gotta be there by 1.’ He said, ‘You’ll never make it; get in the car,’” Roberts told the news station.
The officer whisked him away to the interview, telling Roberts good luck and God bless. In response, Roberts said, “I owe you lunch.”
It’s a promise he intends to keep, now that he has the job, but he can’t find the officer. According to CBS2, Roberts looks for the cop every day before work and on his lunch breaks, to thank him in person.
“He’s about 6 feet 2, very nice, puffy face, bald-headed like me … he’s about 225 [pounds],” Roberts said.
Read more at CBS2.