Making a dream come true

Co-workers say 73-year-old Jim Walker often stared longingly at rows of heavy machinery stored on the Whayne Supply, Co. lot in Corbin, dreaming of the opportunity to operate one.
Walker, an industrial engineer and consultant for Nucsafe – a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of radiation detection equipment – was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer this past Valentines Day.
“I’ve known him for years,” said Darin Rockey, plant manager at Corbin’s Nucsafe facility, located near Whayne Supply. “He’d stand outside and look at the big lot across the street with all the equipment in it and say, ‘you know, before I die, I’d sure like to drive one of those things.'”
Walker got his chance Monday as co-workers, Whayne Supply officials and family looked on.
“It was fantastic!” Walker said after moving gravel with a large excavator. “I think you could learn how to use one of these things very rapidly. There’s several things you’ve got to remember, but once you’ve got that down, it’s a winner.”
Walker then moved on to a huge bulldozer.
Doctors tell Walker he’s got a year to 18 months to live. Upbeat and energetic, he still shows up for work when needed and appeared positively healthy Monday.
“Jim has loved these things all his life,” said Deborah Walker, his wife of 22 years. He’s been married twice and has five children. Four of his daughters were on hand to watch their father operate the machinery.
“He’s got a lot of energy. You can’t keep him down,” she said. “These things are like great big toys to him. It’s just wonderful to see him do it.”
Mary Davis, Senior Secretary with Whayne Supply, said she worked for months to set up the opportunity for Walker to use the equipment; an out of the ordinary request.
Demo Operator Scott Murray helped Walker run the equipment. Davis said Murray is often out of the office, so scheduling a time for the event was difficult.
“I’m just glad we could do it,” she said. “It helped him make a wish come true. It’s just makes you feel good to do things for people like that.”