
By Alex Linder
Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons
Back during the Jazz Age in New York City, you took the A Train to get to Harlem. But to get most everywhere in Carrboro, you take the J Bus. In the spirit of Charles Kuralt’s dictum that everyone has a story, Carrboro Commons reporter Alex Linder jumped on the J Bus and selected a rider to interview at random.
Mark Quattlebaum’s truck broke down for the last time on the side of N.C. 54 in 1993. The mechanic was not optimistic about its future, so Quattlebaum had it scrapped. He hasn’t needed a replacement since.
Instead he gets around town in the oldest-fashion way – walking. Quattlebaum, 51, might not be famous in town, but his figure striding up the road with a couple of bags slung across his shoulders certainly has become a familiar sight in the community.
“I’ve built up a reputation,†he said. “People will see me on the side of the road coming into town and sometimes they’ll pick me up and give me a ride, but it’s okay if they don’t.â€
Jeff Griggs of Pittsboro remembered seeing Quattlebaum plenty of times before deciding to stop to see if he wanted a ride.
“He kind of reminded me of Forrest Gump,†he said. “Just more localized.â€
If Quattlebaum had an online dating profile, it would begin with, “Enjoys long walks … anywhere.†He estimates that he walks nine miles a day, and on a good day his total can reach 12 or 15 miles.
“I’ve done it for so long, I don’t even mind it anymore,†he said.
Quattlebaum said that his hobby started less as walking and more as being dragged along by his old dog, Noodle. The dog was a samoyed, a breed from Siberia used to pull sleds and herd reindeer. With little snow and few pack animals in Orange County, Quattlebaum ended up being the one pulled and pushed along.
“Most people probably wouldn’t want to walk as far as I have, but most people haven’t had a sled dog,†he said. “He really made it more fun.â€
Though Noodle died more than a decade ago, Quattlebaum has not stopped walking. He said it eventually became a habit too stubborn to break and always the best way to clear his head.
But in September 2009, Quattlebaum did have to stop his habit for a short time, when he experienced a stroke.
With the help of doctors, he made a quick recovery, using a cane to get around for some months, until he felt well enough to stand on his own again. The experience gave Quattlebaum more than just a cane; it gave him a new outlook on life.
“After the stroke, I thought, ‘I’ve spent 51 years of my life doing not too much,’†he said. “Now I’m trying to change that.â€
For the previous 31 years, Quattlebaum had worked in Chapel Hill-area restaurants, including the defunct Pyewacket, doing just about everything you can do in a restaurant: serving food, washing dishes, tending bar and bussing tables. Though he enjoyed the work, he said he couldn’t help but feel like he had missed out. So Quattlebaum re-enrolled himself at UNC to get a chemistry degree, which he’d just barely started more than 30 years ago.
These days, Quattlebaum spends his days in the UNC libraries reading heavy textbooks with names like Adventures in Chemical Physics and Calculus of Variations: Mechanics, Control Theory, and Other Applications.
After completing his daily studies, he likes to take the J Bus to Carrboro and shop at Weaver Street Market, where he might add another bag or two to his collection. Because Quattlebaum carries everything he might need during the day, he’s loaded down with bags on his back, elbows and hands. But just like the long walks, he said, it is something he has grown used to.
At the end of the day, he returns to his mobile home five miles west of Carrboro, three miles from the nearest bus stop.
Quattlebaum said he loves this community, and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He has been successful in this – the last time he was out of the area was more than 10 years ago.
“I don’t feel trapped here without my truck,†he said. “It’s always been where I want to be.â€
Alex Linder is a UNC student writing for the Carrboro Commons, a bi-weekly online lab newspaper for Jock Lauterer’s Community Journalism class at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.