From the archives: This story was last updated in May 2019.
A little girl wished on her birthday to give a “fairy cupcake” to the garbage man. He was so delighted by her kindness that he planned a special surprise for her and her brother.Brooklyn Adracke, from Bloomington, Illinois, admired the garbage collector Delvar Deshawn Dopson, who used to be in the area every Thursday making his rounds. She would always wait by the window for Dopson and his garbage truck.
As soon as Dopson would arrive, the adorable Brooklyn would wave at him—and without skipping a beat, he would return the wave smiling joyfully.
Sometimes Brooklyn and her mom, Traci Andracke, would wait on the porch for Dopson.
Andracke understands how much it means to Brooklyn, and so on some days, before playschool, Andracke will drive around the block so that Brooklyn may see her favorite buddy and wave to him.
On April 7, 2016, Brooklyn’s third birthday, the little girl told her mom she wanted to give the garbage man one of her birthday cupcakes.
“I explained to him that he makes our day every Thursday, and we really appreciate the honking and waving, and how special of a day it is for us.”
Andracke said: “Then... (melt my heart)... he explained that he looks forward to seeing us every Thursday as well. He said that he has a meeting every Thursday morning and always tries to get out of there in a hurry so that he can make sure to see us every week.”
After saying goodbye, Andracke noticed that Brooklyn was very quiet, and she asked her daughter if everything was okay. The sweet birthday girl looked at her mom and smiled, answering, “Mommy, I am so happy.”
“THANK YOU!!! Thank you for the joy that you bring Brooklyn every Thursday morning, for making her birthday special, and for making my heart happy. It may be a little thing that you do, but it means so much to us!” Andracke added.
Dopson was really touched by Brooklyn’s kind gesture. He made up his mind to surprise her and her brother, Ty, on his birthday in October.
Six months later on Dopson’s birthday, he arrived with cupcakes and presents for the children. Ty received a baseball Tee and Brooklyn an Elsa doll.
The tradition is still going, and Dopson continues to be the Andracke family’s “favorite awesome smiley garbage man.”
Andracke has shared many times on Facebook how much Dopson means to Brooklyn and her family.
A few days before Christmas in 2018, Andracke wrote in a Facebook post: “We had a surprise visitor this morning to greet Brooklyn at the bus stop!!! Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pics of Delvar and Brooklyn together because she had to hop on the bus. But, Ty and I got to celebrate our favorite day of the week with our favorite Thursday breakfast treat...cupcakes.”
“We’ve missed Delvar so much. What a fun surprise right before Christmas!” she continued.
It’s amazing how a tiny bit of kindness can have such a big effect.
