美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Maryland TikToker raised more than $140K for an 82-year-old Walmart worker

A Maryland TikToker raised more than $140K for an 82-year-old Walmart worker

Transcript¹

What started as an astounding² act of kindness from complete strangers has paid dividends³ — quite literally⁴ — for two men in Maryland.

Last month, Rory McCarty was hustling⁵ through his local Walmart near Cumberland, Md. He'd just run in to grab some batteries but got stuck in line. While waiting, he says he was struck by the cashier checking customers out.

"I'm a business owner. So, I always look for people who are personable, who work hard. I just love that trait because I don't see it too often," McCarty told NPR. "I kind of looked up and I seen this little, older guy there at the register, just grinding. I'm just blown away, thinking man, oh, man. Look at this guy. He's got to be in his 80s."

Warren Marion, who goes by Butch, is in fact 82. At that point, he'd been working at Walmart part time for 16 years. Before that, he spent decades at General Motors and Honeywell, and even had a 10-year stint⁶ in the U.S. Navy.

"I've been working since I've been 11 years old," Marion said.

Unfortunately, some debt made it unlikely for Marion to retire anytime soon, let alone see his family in Florida.

The two started talking and McCarty's wheels began turning. As a TikTok user, McCarty had seen videos of some creators using their followers⁷ to raise money for complete strangers.

McCarty's TikTok is for his pest control company, Bug⁸ Boys. He wondered: What if he used his more than 250,000 followers to do something like that?

He posted a 42-second video showing his first interaction with Marion and asked his followers, "Has anybody seen the videos where a guy raised 180g's to help an 82 yr old walmart employee retire. We ought to do that for Butch. Who would donate?"

Apparently⁹, a lot of people would.

Days later, McCarty returned to the Walmart to track down Marion and tell him the news. Marion was gobsmacked by the fact complete strangers wanted to help him out. With his approval, McCarty created the GoFundMe.

"And the rest is history. In two days. It raised over $100,000," he said. Now, the GoFundMe is almost up to $150,000 at the time of writing.

On Jan. 4, McCarty presented Butch with a $100,000 check, and he was able to finally quit after 16 years — not before submitting his two weeks notice, though.

The rest of the money that comes in through GoFundMe will also be given to Marion, McCarty said. Butch said he's going to use the money to pay off some debt, visit his family in Florida, and maybe take a trip to Cancun with his buddies¹⁰.

McCarty believes Marion grabbed people's hearts because he reminds them of their own grandparents.

"I could have done this for anybody. And I guarantee it, it wouldn't have caught fire like it did," he said.

Both men have been completely overwhelmed with the attention their story has received. Since they've gone viral, the two have sat with national news outlets¹¹ like NBC and Fox, and spent a lot of time together. Their friendship has grown in the month since they first met.

"We're like peas and carrots," McCarty said. "As long as he likes to hang out with me, I'm going to be hanging out with him I think it's gonna be a long friendship."

Marion agrees.

"Out of all the people. I was the one that was chosen. And thank God for that. He's the one that done it," he said. "He's the one that led Rory to me. So it's a beautiful, beautiful experience."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

6 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

11 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》