Nomadic Texan

The young man appeared gaunt and his eyes wore deep dark shadows. He was obviously very tired and stretched to the limit. I felt sorry for him to be in this disarray at such a young age. His recent odyssey with Adecco has obviously pushed Turner Barr to the limits of human ability. He is worn to a frazzle and completely fatigued in my humble opinion. His smart-phone went off incessantly. First a reporter from German called. Then a reporter from Australia called. All the while Turner was trying to balance the social media and information flow. I am not sure I could have handled the amount of pressure he was carrying or the expected interaction from his supporters, journalists and news personnel.

Nomadic Texan & Turner Barr aroundtheworldin80jobs.com Photo credit: Stephen Oddo

“When this is all over I just want to go home and get some sleep”! “I am so tired”. I really don’t think that any of us can appreciate what Turner has been though. This battle has been going on for six weeks, beginning with phone calls back and forth when he was in Laos and Thailand. He interrupted his trip to come home and battle this issue.

I asked him what he wanted to say to his supporters. He welled up a bit and said “I want them to know that I am humbled and honored that they stood tall behind me,  stood up for me and I would not have been able to go this route without them”. I am learning this young man is indeed a very humble and gentle soul and is so appreciative of the groundswell from the weekend, he has a hard time expressing his feelings.

I took the interview in another direction.

What was your favorite job?

Definitely it was being the Krampus in Austria. I mean where else can you dress up like a monster and drive through the Alps in a 4-wheel vehicle looking at all the beautiful snow scenes?

Who was your favorite character in the travels around the world? 

No question it was Lek, the Elephant Whisperer. When she had the elephant stand over her with its paw in her face and grabbed its trunk to sing a lullaby I was overcome. She could have been dead in an instant, but she completely trusted this elephant and he trusted her. It was amazing.

What was the most difficult job you performed?

Probably I would have to say it was the Agave harvesting job. It was outside all day in the sun. The work is eight straight hours of hard manual labor and you work with a “coa” a sharp blade on the end of a stick that the individual swings back and forth. After about three hours you start losing your concentration and if you are not careful you could hack your toes or feet off. Its that sharp!

The second hardest was Rice Harvesting job in Thailand. It was so hot!

What was your favorite country overall?

I would have to say Colombia or Mexico. “They have the best looking women”.

What was your favorite food?

1) Thai…it was consistent everywhere and was excellent. 2) Italian I could eat forever. 3) Mexican is always great.

As our interview progressed Turner got up and answered as many calls as he received and maintained his composure. He really  is a very laid back guy and is so appreciative and humbled by all the support that I think he is a little overwhelmed. Who wouldn’t be? After all he has worked for two straight years to build his brand and in an instant it was tainted!

Turner it kills me that some are changing their stance and not speaking up still as a result of your being quiet. I have seen first hand the amount of pressure you are under and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. I am also having a hard time biting my tongue, since I am aware (overheard your conversation my friend) that there may be a resolution very quickly that you cannot talk about. I hope that you get what you are asking for and it was my pleasure to interview you and have lunch with you in Austin. Safe Travels mi amigo!

Epilogue: The interview was conducted the day prior to Turner settling with Adecco. His requests were met by Adecco and the company stepped up and made it right. I think in large it was a result of the massive response from the blogging community and Turner’s friends campaign over the weekend. The Internet was overwhelmed with push back on many social media platforms and Adecco learned this community of bloggers is a vibrant, zealous and compassionate group, willing to fight for what is right!

Recently a friend in the travel blogger industry had the misfortune of  having a large corporation pilfer his theme. Turner Barr has been on a Round The World quest, to sustain himself, by working at various unusual jobs. His blog aroundtheworldin80jobs.com as been very successful and he has devoted over two years of his life to establish a following and share his inner feelings and thoughts about each of the jobs. He has made many personal sacrifices and wanted to show the world if you really want to work, there are a myriad of “odd” jobs that one can hold.

On June 20, 2013 Turner went public as Adecco, the large corporation that appropriated Turner’s theme, wanted no part of admitting their fault or even negotiating at any level. How I Got Fired From The Job I Invented  was written seeking the large corporation’s admission of fault and a fair and legitimate compensation for actually and outright plagiarizing his theme and creation. Over the weekend Turner sat idly, as friends and fellow bloggers try to escalate Adecco’s blunder into a ground swirl, which could not be ignored. Adecco’s Twitter handle was shut down from too many tweets. Various social media platforms were closed to additional comments, as the response was overwhelmingly in Turner’s favor and Adecco had no supporter’s for their swindle.

The blogging community and especially the travel blogging community is a large and vibrant family eager to express themselves and broadcast the misdeeds of Adecco’s theft of Turner’s campaign. All weekend long Adecco was silent with no answer except to state they were in negotiations. This was another untruth, but what should one suspect from a company that advertise’s a stolen campaign and presents a purloined agenda to young people who are desperate to find a job.

Turner all through this ordeal has taken the high road and had tried in vain to maintain a open and positive dialogue. Just a few minutes ago Turner released this post Even Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations Should Apologize When They Are Wrong: An Open Letter to Adecco to #makeitright stating what he desired to settle the issue. Adecco apparently wanted him to keep quiet and not continue use of the “AroundTheWorldIn80Jobs campaign”.

I think that in this “David vs Goliath” battle David (Turner) is completely in the right. Please read and completely digest Turner’s story, especially if you are a small business owner. As I discovered with a simple Google search, there are predators willing to steal even my theme and domain name. Beware you might be next! I would appreciate it if you would share this among all your friends and family and let the world know we are tired of large corporations running rampant over the little guy! Turner I sincerely wish you well my friend! #MakeItRight Adecco!.