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Friendship

A boy and his garbage man became great friends. The unexpected goodbye hit them both hard.

After four years, Noah learned his neighborhood would be getting a new driver.

via Canva/Photos
A sanitation worker taking a garbage can to the truck.

There's not a 9-year-old boy on the planet without at least a passing interest in big trucks. There are many wonderful reasons why little kids are fascinated, and at the same time, perhaps a little scared of garbage trucks. They have bright colors, flashing lights, and have massive moving parts that shriek and moan as they lift the garbage bins and throw them in the back of the truck. They are also impressed by the operator who pulls the levers and makes the massive machine lift and dump.

Little kids have this fascination until they are around five or six, until one day when the garbage man comes by they no longer feel the need to run out and watch.

However, a touching story out of Florida shows that nine-year-old Noah Carrigan never lost his love for the garbage man, and that’s because they forged a sweet relationship.

But unfortunately, after the city changed its waste management contracts, the garbage collector will no longer stop by Noah’s house.

sanitation workers, garbage man, garbage truck, sanitation truck, kids and trucks, truck love Sanitation workers are an important part of the community. Photo by James Day on Unsplash

“It started out as something so simple—he was just fascinated by the garbage truck,” Noah’s mom, Catherine Carrigan, told SWNS.

“For years, every Tuesday, he would run outside to wave, and the garbage man always waved back, honked the horn, and acknowledged him.”

She filmed the garbage man’s last pickup at his house, and it marked the end of an era.

- YouTube youtu.be

On the garbage man’s final visit, Noah handed him a bottle of water, a handwritten note, and some gifts to express his gratitude and appreciation for the kindness and years of friendship. "He wanted to write him a thank you note with garbage truck toys he used to play with," the mother wrote on a social media post. “This farewell hit hard,” she admitted.


One of the unique aspects of being a parent is that there are many last moments you have with your child, although you never know it at the time. Whether it’s the last time you pick up your child, the final time that you read The Little Engine That Could, or the last time that you put a Band-Aid on their knee after a fall, these final moments go without fanfare, but if you knew at the time that you’d never have that moment again, you’d cherish every second.


@holisticspark

For years my son has been waving to the same garbage man every week. 🚛💙 Today, he says goodbye as his favorite garbage man retires. 🥹 Thank you for your years of kindness! 👏🏼♥️ #garbagemanhero #garbageman #wholesomemoments #kindnessmatters #communitylove #heartwarming #goodbyefriend

That's why parents need to take a moment to realize that they are in the midst of something beautiful that is fleeting. So, when there are those nights when you're tired and don’t feel like reading them a book before bed, or getting off the couch to play catch, knowing you only have so many of these moments is a great way to enjoy them. Because one day, when they’re gone, you’ll wish you could have read one more book or spent that nice spring day on the lawn throwing a ball around.

That’s why the story about young Noah and the garbage man is wonderful. On one level, it's a touching story about the friendship between a man and a young boy, highlighting the importance of the people who work in our communities. On the other hand, it’s a reminder that some of these simple joys in life we share with children will one day end—and you can’t turn back the clock.

This article originally appeared in April. It has been updated


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20-year-old woman agreed to a closed adoption for her baby, then got a wonderful surprise

Opening up a closed adoption is a risky decision. For this family, it paid off.

via CBS News/YouTube
A journal detailing Steven Schoebinger's young life.

At Upworthy, we love sharing the “best of humanity” with our audience, and this story out of Utah, originally reported by CBS News’ Steve Hartman, shows the power of love to break down barriers.

When Schauna Austin, 48, was 20 years old, she got pregnant and knew she wasn’t ready to raise a child, so she made the difficult decision to give the baby up for adoption.

She gave birth to a son she named Riley and only had three days to spend with him before surrendering him to his new family. So, she held him tight for 72 hours straight.

"It was perfect," Austin said about those three emotionally-charged days. "I knew I would have him for a short time, so I made every minute count of it. I didn't sleep for three days." It must have been tough for Austin to give up her son because the grieving process of surrender and adoption can be incredibly difficult.

Riley was given to Chris and Jennifer Schoebinger in a closed adoption, who decided to change his name to Steven.

In a closed adoption, the birth mother, Austin, would not receive any information about the adoptive family. In Utah, closed adoptions are a rarity these days, with about 95% allowing some exchange of information between the birth and adoptive parents. Usually, the birth parents have a good deal of input over whether they prefer to have regular contact or not with the adoptive family.

However, about a week later, the Schoebingers made a major decision.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The Schoebingers decided Austin should be involved in Steven’s life. They wanted to officially open the closed adoption.

You can imagine that it's a big and potentially risky decision for adoptive parents to bring in a birth parent. It could complicate things, stir up difficult feelings, or even bring conflict into their lives. But the Schoebingers weren't worried about any of that.

"It was like, 'OK, this is the way it should be. She was part of our family,'" Jennifer told CBS News.

"You know, you can't have too many people loving you, right? Why couldn't he be both of ours?" Chris added.

Every year, the Schoebingers sent Austin pictures and bound journals showing Steven's journey in deep detail. They even had lists of all the new words he learned each year. The books were titled “The Life and Times of ‘Riley,’” paying homage to Steven’s original name.

adoption, parenting, open adoption, closed adoption, moms, fathers, kids, family, modern families, adoptees The Schoebingers sent Steven's mother photos ever year until the two were ready to meet. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

The hope was that one day when the biological mother and son were ready, they could pick up where they left off. That moment came when Steven was seven years old and his biological mother taught him to fish.The unique arrangement has been fantastic for both Austin and her biological son. "I was blessed beyond words," Austin said. "I kind of got the best of both worlds, for sure," Steven agreed. It may seem like relationships between children and those who gave them up for adoption would be complicated, but studies show that 84% of adoptees reported high levels of satisfaction when maintaining ongoing contact with their birth parents. It's considered the standard these days unless there are specific reasons why its in the best interest of the child to have the adoption be closed.

Steven is now 27 and in August 2022, he and his wife, Kayla, had their first child, a boy they named — wait for it — Riley. Austin, herself, is now a grandmother.

The remarkable story of Austin and the Schoebinger family proves that when we put walls between ourselves and others, we are often blocking everyone off from more love and support.


People on social media were incredibly moved by the story. Dozens of commenters chimed in on YouTube to express their gratitude for the families involved:

"Steven's adoptive parents are WONDERFUL! They weren't selfish, and did what was best for STEVEN, His dad said it best-----the more love a child has, the better. His bio mom lucked out with this special couple as well, especially when they sent her the books each year! This story was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!" one user wrote.

"Speaks volumes of his adoptive parents and also the love of his natural mother to make the hardest decision on earth," another said.

"Thank you for including the birth mom in the raising of your son. I’m adopted and it was a closed one. the struggle of not knowing your birth parents is real. I just spent my first Christmas in 56 years with my Ukrainian birth family. Full circle family is love. Oh what a ride!" someone added.

Ultimately, Chris Schoebinger, the adoptive dad, said it best:

"I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes we create barriers where barriers don't need to be. And when we pull down those barriers, we really find love on the other side," Chris said.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Heroes

3-year-old ventures outside in the pitch black to save his great-grandma after scary fall

The video is as amazing and adorable as you'd imagine.

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A 3-year-old rescued his grandma after she fell and hit her head.

A lot of parents feel guilty about letting their kids watch TV. But a little bit of screentime isn't always a bad thing. There are shows with legitimate educational value like Ms. Rachel or Sesame Street. Educational programming can be an amazing way for kids to accelerate their learning of counting, the alphabet, and social behaviors.

In some rare cases, they can learn even more than that from their favorite TV shows: Like bravery and strength. Just take it from 3-year-old Bridger Peabody.

Bridger is just three years old but the toddler is already adding "hero" to his resume before he even starts preschool.


toddler hero, Denver boy saves grandma, heroes, grandma, grandma babysitting, grandparents, family, 911 Not all heroes wear capes; some wear blankies. Giphy

Bridger is a huge fan of the show Paw Patrol, which came in handy when an emergency took place while he was being babysat by his great-grandmother Sharon Lewis, 77.

The two were home alone when the unthinkable happened, "Gigi," which is what Bridger calls his grandma, suffered a terrifying and violent fall. Lewis uses a walker to get around and must've become unsteady on her feet while maneuvering the wheeled walker inside.

The pair were outside enjoying some playtime before everything went south. As they were making their way inside from playing in the backyard, Lewis fell—but it wasn't just a normal trip and fall. The great-grandma didn't land on her knees, bottom, or even her hands—which probably would caused enough damage. When Lewis fell, she forcefully hit her head on the cement steps and blood quickly rushed from her wound—but that wasn't the end of her problem.

The two were alone, and there was no one else around to help.

"I tripped over something and fell and hit my head on the concrete step," Lewis tells Inside Edition.

The elderly woman was unable to move and her cell phone was not with her. Since she was home alone with the toddler, she realized he was the only one there who could help her.

So, she instructed him to get her phone from her car. Bridger may be young, but he knew his grandmother was hurt and needed his help. There were a couple of stumbling blocks for Bridger to overcome, though, the first one being that the phone was in the car, not inside the house. The second was that the sun had set and the toddler is afraid of the dark. Venturing out into the darkness alone to get his great-grandma's cellphone was a monumental task for the little guy.

This is where Paw Patrol comes in. The show is popular with toddlers and preschoolers, and depicts cartoon dogs of different breeds donning uniforms from various help and service professions (firefighter, police, construction, etc.) to rescue different fictional animals. It shows kids the importance of bravery, team work, and kindness—which Bridger clearly picked up on.

The little guy knew that it was dark outside, but he also knew he needed to help his great-grandmother—so he braved the dark channeling his inner Paw Patrol character.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The whole thing was captured on the Peabody's security camera and it's just as amazing and adorable as you would expect.

Bridger even gives himself a little pep talk as he navigates the nighttime darkness to retrieve the cell phone so Gigi can call 911. You can see Bridger holding his blankie in the night vision security camera as he walks to the car repeating, "Don't be afraid."

The boy opens the car door and excitedly exclaims, "YAY! I did it!" when he gets inside the car.

When the interior light turned on in the car, Bridger could clearly see the phone and was able to grab it and bring it back to his grandmother, allowing her to call 911.

The ambulance came to take Lewis to the hospital where she received 22 staples in her head. She's now home safely recovering all thanks to the bravery of her three-year-old great grandson.

Social media users couldn't get enough of the story of bravery, and it quickly went viral. Commenters chimed in with their admiration:

"Not all hero's wear capes, some of them hold blankies."

"Grandma's hope in Bridger overcame his fear! May they always be bonded, and continue to make lasting memories together!"

"him telling himself dont be scared is one of the cutest and bravest things i have seen that was special."

"Paw Patrol company needs to give that young warrior something special."

“Yay!! I did it!!” My heart melted. What an adorable little boy, and so strong. He saved his Gigi’s life that day. Bless him!!!"

Gigi is doing well and, with the media frenzy dying down, Bridger is returning to life as a normal 3-year-old. But he and his Gigi will be bonded for life over what happened, that much is for sure. The young man might have a bright future in helping others ahead of him with the bravery he's displayed so far in his short life.

This article originally appeared in March. It has been updated.


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A pro wrestler left the ring mid-match to stop security from manhandling a boy with Down syndrome

Shawn Michaels stopped the match and broke character in front of 13,000 stunned spectators.

Mandy Coombes - Flickr: WWE - Birmingham 210695 (19), CC BY-SA 2.0 & David Seto, CC BY 2.0,

Shawn Michaels stopped a performance in front of 13,000 to help a fan in need.

Professional wrestling in the 1990s was really something else. Dominated at the time by the WWF (now WWE), stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and The Undertaker were larger than life and some of the most popular public sports figures in the world well before The Rock and John Cena hit the scene.

And then there was Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels, who was perhaps the biggest star of all during his heyday. Known for his extraordinarily cocky and vain character, Michaels was a terrific performer both in the ring and on the mic, making him a beloved fan favorite.

wwe, wwf, shawn michaels, stone cold steve austin, wrestling, pro wrestling, sports, down syndrome, special needs Peak Shawn Michaels was larger than life. Giphy

In one iconic moment from a 1997 match, Shawn Michaels stopped and left the ring mid-match when he noticed a security scuffle taking place just a few feet away.

The 1997 King of the Ring Pay Per View event featured Shawn Michaels taking on Stone Cold Steve Austin, pitting two of the sport's biggest stars against each other for what would become a legendary showdown.

Just a minute or so into the match, Steve Austin stops to stare outside the ring at some kind of disturbance. Michaels quickly clocks what's going on and slides out of the ring. He saunters over to a group of security personnel who seem to be roughly grabbing at and restraining a young boy. Michaels gently shoves them aside and offers comfort to the boy, who it becomes clear has Down syndrome.

It would have been the perfect heartwarming moment...if Steve Austin hadn't run over and immediately started "punching" Michaels in the head! The performers resume their match in the ring for another minute before Michaels again exits and finds the boy. He waves off the security guards and gently escorts the boy down the aisle and safely away from the ring, effectively breaking character in front of the crowd of 13,000 stunned onlookers.

Once they're a safe distance from the ring, Michaels hands the boy over to some other officials and a woman who comes running after him, and then returns to the match.

As a show of respect, Steve Austin holds the ropes open for his opponent to return to the regularly scheduled match, which went on to be an all-time classic.

In professional wrestling, there's a concept called "kayfabe"— it means that at no point are the performers or the production to ever, ever indicate that what's taking place isn't real.

We all know that professional wrestling like WWE is staged and mostly scripted. While the athletic stunts are impressive (and the falls really do hurt), the wrestlers in the ring aren't really fighting each other. It's all a giant soap opera, with dramatic storylines written that build anticipation for the big showdown.

What's so unique about pro wrestling is that this illusion is never broken—especially not in the 90s. Performers like Shawn Michaels were never to break character in interviews or fan interactions, and absolutely never during a live match, let alone one of the main events of a Pay Per View performance!

Think kayfabe is silly? Tell that to the wrestlers. In 1975, a trio of wrestlers were involved in a horrific plane crash. One of the wrestler's, Mr. Wrestling, survived and made it to the hospital, where he proceeded to lie to the doctors:

"While lying in a hospital bed, and with no way of knowing if his compatriots were alive or dead, Mr. Wrestling provided his true name...and then lied about his job to preserve the illusion of wrestling. He knew that if word got out that a good guy, the owner of the company’s brother and three bad guys were all on the same plane, it could ruin that illusion forever," according to Uproxx.

A wrestler named Junkyard Dog once became "blinded" during a match and wore dark glasses and a walking cane in public for months afterward, even claiming that he could not see his newborn son. One story goes that the "blind" Junkyard Dog was once sitting ringside at a match when a fan jumped the barrier with a gun close by, and JYD was legitimately torn about whether to stop the man and break kayfabe (luckily, police officers intervened first, but can you believe he really had to give this decision serious weight?!).

wwe, wwf, shawn michaels, stone cold steve austin, wrestling, pro wrestling, sports, down syndrome, special needs Junkyard Dog took kayfabe extremely seriously. Giphy

Kayfabe also means that, no matter what's going on around the production, the show must go on. In 1999, a wrestler named Owen Hart died in the ring after some acrobatics equipment sadly malfunctioned. The others wrestlers were ordered to continue performing the rest of the show with Hart's blood still drying on the mat.

For Michaels, and Austin to a lesser extend, to break that illusion of reality in order to help a fan showed a tremendous amount of compassion.

The match has over 12 million views on YouTube, striking a cord with viewers both for the performance and for the amazing display of integrity and warmth by Shawn Michaels. Commenters shared their admiration in droves:

"Shawn Michael protects the special kid like a caring father. Respect."

"Shawn Michaels taking the time to make sure that young man got out of the ring side safely is one of the best things Ive ever seen in wrestling. A legend in the ring and out."

"The way Shawn loving blanketed the boy with love to keep him out of the ring and content at the same time was so angelic"

"How great of shawn was it to break character and go help that disabled olympian kid. What a great guy."

"Stone Cold holding the ropes for Shawn Michaels out of respect for what just happened is the greatest breaking kayfabe moment in the history of the WWE. ... Stone Cold acknowledged what just happened and how much he had respect for what Michaels just did."

Police and security personnel often have extremely poor training on dealing with people with disabilities, which can lead to unnecessary violence. When the young man at this WWF event hopped the railing, he unknowingly put himself in a lot of danger. Shawn Michaels stopping the live performance, breaking character, and helping the boy out with warmth and compassion may have prevented a tragic outcome.

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