April 3, 2025 • 12 mins
This week we meet PFC Andy Walker. When the IED exploded and ripped through the Humvee, PFC Walker, on his very first patrol, survived, but with his brain scrambled.
So now he walks. Walks and walks. Seven days a week. PFC Walker—another victim of The War.
Any War.
Every War.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We hear at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet PFC Andy Walker when the IED
(00:47):
exploded and are ripped through the HUMVIY. PFC Walker, on
his very first patrol, survived, but with his brain scrambled,
so now he walks, walks and walks seven days a week.
Pfc Walker, another victim of the war, any war, every war.
(01:14):
The man who walks the ambulance two EMT's aboard arrives
to find the victim of the hit and run lying
in the grass along the side of the road. The
victim bleeds from the nose and mouth. But they find
a pulse, a very faint pulse now just before the
(01:42):
IED that's improvised explosive device blue the humviy sky High
on the road from Covel to Shirako, Private First Class
Andrew Walker was telling his patrolmates about his great great grandfather.
PFC Walker had only been in country for a few days.
(02:06):
He was still gun ho and starry eyed. He still
believed in the mission. My great great grandfather, Angus Walker,
PFC Walker explained, he joined the one hundred and twenty
fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers after honest Abe Lincoln said he'd free
the slaves. Angus was all for freeing the slaves. He
(02:30):
paraded with his regiment right out in front of the
White House. Even saw Lincoln a couple times, once standing
on a balcony surveying the army and another time getting
into a carriage with his son. Walker shouted the second
Lieutenant over the roar of the humviies powerful engine, What
the fuck are you talking about? This is your first
(02:52):
fucking mission, Walker, on your first fucking mission. You just
shut the fuck up. On your first mission. You have
got less than nothing to say, Bucky, PFC Walker laughed.
He hadn't seen anything bad happen yet, he was still innocent.
Plus he didn't curse much, so hearing the second lieutenant
(03:13):
curse of blue Streak really got him defawing. He got
a big kick out of all those f bombs well, well,
so he continued. One day, back in early September eighteen
sixty two, some scuttle butt ran through the camp that Lee,
that's Robert E. Lee was moving on Pennsylvania, and General
(03:35):
McClellan was heading into Maryland to intercept the Army of
Northern Virginia. And sure enough, the very next morning, Angus Walker,
that's my great great grandfather, and the one hundred and
twenty fifth double timed north and west out of DC
along the Potomac. Word was they'd likely clash with Lee's
(03:55):
ReBs somewhere up around Harper's Ferry. It was going to
be a long walk, a very long walk. They walked
and walked, and the explosion of that ied cut PFC
Walker's Civil War story short. The explosion cut the second
lieutenant's life short. The explosion blew the corporal's left foot off.
(04:20):
The explosion shattered the sergeant's legs and right pelvis. The
explosion scattered shrapnel across the other private's chest, neck, and face.
He'd survive, but never again see a goddamn thing. And
as for PFC. Walker, the explosion scrambled his brain and
(04:43):
so now no longer Private first class Andrew Walker walks.
He walks and walks. He is known in town as
the Man who walks. No one knows exactly why he walks,
but there is of course much speculation on the subject.
Some say he lost his license for drunk driving, Others
(05:07):
say he's in training for a walk around the world,
and still others claim, well, he's just a mere looney tune.
Andy lives in a small ranch house at the end
of high View Drive, a cul de sac. Every morning,
at seven o'clock on the dot, he leaves his ranch
(05:27):
house and walks seven point one miles to the Walker
Family toy store. He arrives promptly Monday through Saturday at
precisely eight fifty five. He makes this walk rain or shine,
summer and winter, in high heat and bitter cold, in
darkness and in light, and in the evening. At precisely
(05:51):
six o'clock, the Man who Walks emerges from the Walker
Family Toy store and makes the seven point one mile
track back to his ranch house at the end of
high View Drive. On Sundays, he leaves his house at
seven forty five in the morning and walks seven point
(06:11):
two miles to the Presbyterian Church just down and across
the street from the Walker Family Toy Store. He arrives
at church at nine forty five and makes sure all
the pews have Bibles and hymnals, new member cards, and
little pencils with sharp points. At ten o'clock he attends service.
(06:35):
At eleven o'clock, he attends Bible study. After Bible study,
he crosses the street and enters the Walker Family Toy Store,
which opens at noon on Sunday. He leaves at five
o'clock when the store closes, and is back on his
cul de sac by seven. It is worth noting the
(06:57):
local geography. This is not an urban area where lots
of people walk. It is probably best classified as suburban rural.
The ranch house on Highview stands just outside the small
village of Liberty. To reach the Family's toy store, Walker
(07:18):
has to pass through Liberty, take the County Road no sidewalk,
a very slender shoulder down into far Hills, and then
the State Highway sidewalks on both sides down to Sharpsburg
to the center of Southend, Maine, where the Family Toy
Store has stood for the better part of thirty years.
(07:41):
The store sells board games like monopoly and life, legos
and crossword puzzles, dolls and toy soldiers. Toy soldiers is
the specialty of the Man who Walks. His province where
he spends his work day is the small room off
the back room. A large makeshift table made of plywood
(08:04):
and sawhorses, covered with several satin tablecloths, fills the room
practically edge to edge. There is just enough room to
maneuver around the outside of the table. From nine to
six Monday through Saturday, and from noon until five on Sunday,
the Man who walks walks around and around and around
(08:28):
this table, setting up small plastic soldiers. He has soldiers
in blue and soldiers in gray, Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers,
Yanks and ReBs. In addition to the soldiers, he has horses, cannons,
supply wagons, tents, stretchers, boxes and boxes of ammo. Every day,
(08:51):
several times a day. No longer PFC Walker fights the
Battle of Antietam, fought on September seven teen, eighteen sixty two,
the battle where his great great grandfather fought and caught
a mini ball in his belly but survived. The Man
who Walks fights this battle every single day of the week,
(09:15):
an exact reenactment of the battle, only with small plastic
soldiers who do not bleed, suffer, or die. His mom, dad,
and older brother also work in the store. It is
a family affair. The battle in the back room is
(09:36):
popular with kids in the area. They frequently stop by
and watch the Man who Walks reenact the action in
Miller's Cornfield, the West Woods out at Burnside's Bridge, and
of course the savage fighting along the Sunken Road. The
Man who Walks never he never says much, but always
(10:00):
at the end of the battle, at the end of
the day, he reminds all present that Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation just a few days after the battle. The
explosion of that ied on the road from Cobble to
Schiraco froze PFC. Walker in time. He was marching with
(10:24):
his great great grandfather along the banks of the Potomac
when his world and the worlds of his patrolmates went
haywire and nothing could ever be the same again. Frozen
in time, stuck in time. Hey no harm in that
the man who Walks had been an army man, armed
(10:46):
and dangerous, ready to kill to fulfill the mission, but
no more harmless, now just a man who walks and
plays with plastic soldiers. Leave him, be him alone. His
mama still loves him, and his dad and his brother too.
But now well, now, I mean, just look at the
(11:08):
boar bastard. It's growing dark, but you can see him
in the headlights and flashing lights of the ambulance, lying there,
unmoving on the side of the road, run over by
some asshole teenager speeding along in his daddy's Audie taking
pictures of himself with his smartphone and texting them to
(11:31):
his girlfriend. Swerved off the road he did, ran over
the Man who walks, and after screaming and cursing, he
got the hell out of there lickety split, leaving the
Man who Walks to walk no more. Thanks for listening
(11:58):
to this original audio presentation of The Man Who Walks,
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
com for additional information about the author and to view
(12:21):
his extensive canon. The ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleiglici and Josh Colodney and as part of the
Elvis Durand Podcast Network in partnership with iHeart Productions. Until
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten minute storyteller,
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We hear at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet PFC Andy Walker when the IED
(00:47):
exploded and are ripped through the HUMVIY. PFC Walker, on
his very first patrol, survived, but with his brain scrambled,
so now he walks, walks and walks seven days a week.
Pfc Walker, another victim of the war, any war, every war.
(01:14):
The man who walks the ambulance two EMT's aboard arrives
to find the victim of the hit and run lying
in the grass along the side of the road. The
victim bleeds from the nose and mouth. But they find
a pulse, a very faint pulse now just before the
(01:42):
IED that's improvised explosive device blue the humviy sky High
on the road from Covel to Shirako, Private First Class
Andrew Walker was telling his patrolmates about his great great grandfather.
PFC Walker had only been in country for a few days.
(02:06):
He was still gun ho and starry eyed. He still
believed in the mission. My great great grandfather, Angus Walker,
PFC Walker explained, he joined the one hundred and twenty
fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers after honest Abe Lincoln said he'd free
the slaves. Angus was all for freeing the slaves. He
(02:30):
paraded with his regiment right out in front of the
White House. Even saw Lincoln a couple times, once standing
on a balcony surveying the army and another time getting
into a carriage with his son. Walker shouted the second
Lieutenant over the roar of the humviies powerful engine, What
the fuck are you talking about? This is your first
(02:52):
fucking mission, Walker, on your first fucking mission. You just
shut the fuck up. On your first mission. You have
got less than nothing to say, Bucky, PFC Walker laughed.
He hadn't seen anything bad happen yet, he was still innocent.
Plus he didn't curse much, so hearing the second lieutenant
(03:13):
curse of blue Streak really got him defawing. He got
a big kick out of all those f bombs well, well,
so he continued. One day, back in early September eighteen
sixty two, some scuttle butt ran through the camp that Lee,
that's Robert E. Lee was moving on Pennsylvania, and General
(03:35):
McClellan was heading into Maryland to intercept the Army of
Northern Virginia. And sure enough, the very next morning, Angus Walker,
that's my great great grandfather, and the one hundred and
twenty fifth double timed north and west out of DC
along the Potomac. Word was they'd likely clash with Lee's
(03:55):
ReBs somewhere up around Harper's Ferry. It was going to
be a long walk, a very long walk. They walked
and walked, and the explosion of that ied cut PFC
Walker's Civil War story short. The explosion cut the second
lieutenant's life short. The explosion blew the corporal's left foot off.
(04:20):
The explosion shattered the sergeant's legs and right pelvis. The
explosion scattered shrapnel across the other private's chest, neck, and face.
He'd survive, but never again see a goddamn thing. And
as for PFC. Walker, the explosion scrambled his brain and
(04:43):
so now no longer Private first class Andrew Walker walks.
He walks and walks. He is known in town as
the Man who walks. No one knows exactly why he walks,
but there is of course much speculation on the subject.
Some say he lost his license for drunk driving, Others
(05:07):
say he's in training for a walk around the world,
and still others claim, well, he's just a mere looney tune.
Andy lives in a small ranch house at the end
of high View Drive, a cul de sac. Every morning,
at seven o'clock on the dot, he leaves his ranch
(05:27):
house and walks seven point one miles to the Walker
Family toy store. He arrives promptly Monday through Saturday at
precisely eight fifty five. He makes this walk rain or shine,
summer and winter, in high heat and bitter cold, in
darkness and in light, and in the evening. At precisely
(05:51):
six o'clock, the Man who Walks emerges from the Walker
Family Toy store and makes the seven point one mile
track back to his ranch house at the end of
high View Drive. On Sundays, he leaves his house at
seven forty five in the morning and walks seven point
(06:11):
two miles to the Presbyterian Church just down and across
the street from the Walker Family Toy Store. He arrives
at church at nine forty five and makes sure all
the pews have Bibles and hymnals, new member cards, and
little pencils with sharp points. At ten o'clock he attends service.
(06:35):
At eleven o'clock, he attends Bible study. After Bible study,
he crosses the street and enters the Walker Family Toy Store,
which opens at noon on Sunday. He leaves at five
o'clock when the store closes, and is back on his
cul de sac by seven. It is worth noting the
(06:57):
local geography. This is not an urban area where lots
of people walk. It is probably best classified as suburban rural.
The ranch house on Highview stands just outside the small
village of Liberty. To reach the Family's toy store, Walker
(07:18):
has to pass through Liberty, take the County Road no sidewalk,
a very slender shoulder down into far Hills, and then
the State Highway sidewalks on both sides down to Sharpsburg
to the center of Southend, Maine, where the Family Toy
Store has stood for the better part of thirty years.
(07:41):
The store sells board games like monopoly and life, legos
and crossword puzzles, dolls and toy soldiers. Toy soldiers is
the specialty of the Man who Walks. His province where
he spends his work day is the small room off
the back room. A large makeshift table made of plywood
(08:04):
and sawhorses, covered with several satin tablecloths, fills the room
practically edge to edge. There is just enough room to
maneuver around the outside of the table. From nine to
six Monday through Saturday, and from noon until five on Sunday,
the Man who walks walks around and around and around
(08:28):
this table, setting up small plastic soldiers. He has soldiers
in blue and soldiers in gray, Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers,
Yanks and ReBs. In addition to the soldiers, he has horses, cannons,
supply wagons, tents, stretchers, boxes and boxes of ammo. Every day,
(08:51):
several times a day. No longer PFC Walker fights the
Battle of Antietam, fought on September seven teen, eighteen sixty two,
the battle where his great great grandfather fought and caught
a mini ball in his belly but survived. The Man
who Walks fights this battle every single day of the week,
(09:15):
an exact reenactment of the battle, only with small plastic
soldiers who do not bleed, suffer, or die. His mom, dad,
and older brother also work in the store. It is
a family affair. The battle in the back room is
(09:36):
popular with kids in the area. They frequently stop by
and watch the Man who Walks reenact the action in
Miller's Cornfield, the West Woods out at Burnside's Bridge, and
of course the savage fighting along the Sunken Road. The
Man who Walks never he never says much, but always
(10:00):
at the end of the battle, at the end of
the day, he reminds all present that Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation just a few days after the battle. The
explosion of that ied on the road from Cobble to
Schiraco froze PFC. Walker in time. He was marching with
(10:24):
his great great grandfather along the banks of the Potomac
when his world and the worlds of his patrolmates went
haywire and nothing could ever be the same again. Frozen
in time, stuck in time. Hey no harm in that
the man who Walks had been an army man, armed
(10:46):
and dangerous, ready to kill to fulfill the mission, but
no more harmless, now just a man who walks and
plays with plastic soldiers. Leave him, be him alone. His
mama still loves him, and his dad and his brother too.
But now well, now, I mean, just look at the
(11:08):
boar bastard. It's growing dark, but you can see him
in the headlights and flashing lights of the ambulance, lying there,
unmoving on the side of the road, run over by
some asshole teenager speeding along in his daddy's Audie taking
pictures of himself with his smartphone and texting them to
(11:31):
his girlfriend. Swerved off the road he did, ran over
the Man who walks, and after screaming and cursing, he
got the hell out of there lickety split, leaving the
Man who Walks to walk no more. Thanks for listening
(11:58):
to this original audio presentation of The Man Who Walks,
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
com for additional information about the author and to view
(12:21):
his extensive canon. The ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleiglici and Josh Colodney and as part of the
Elvis Durand Podcast Network in partnership with iHeart Productions. Until
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten minute storyteller,
Host
Bill Simpson
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