JT comes through

Down in Tennessee, there lives a fellow named Jake Stitt. He's 17, and he lives with cerebral palsy, and with a certain kind of kind spirit that fills his town with happiness. 

What he does, he sits outside the house and waves to people as they pass him by. He has a sign that says, "Honk If You're Happy!"

Who wouldn't smile and honk when they saw that? You'd have to be the biggest nincompoop on earth to pass on the chance to tell the world you're happy, especially with a guy sitting out front of his house to remind you how happy you are! There used to be an old guy who stood on the sidewalk in front of his house near where I worked in the 70s, and he waved to everyone going by, and I remember it cheered up many a day for me.

Of course, people whose main ability to get around depends on a wheelchair need accessible vans, and Jake's family was struggling to get the money together to get him one. Up until now, his father, Tim, has been lifting Jake into the family car to take him to appointments in their town of Morristown. But that has taken a toll on Tim's back, and he will need surgery on that soon. That makes the van more necessary than ever.

And those vehicles cost more money than you might think. A used van will cost around $20,000; a new fitted-out model can set you back upwards of $80,000.

The community had a fundraiser; people were chipping in to get a van when Justin Timberlake, himself a proud Tennessean, heard about the effort, and reached into his pocket, pulling out enough loot to pay for a van for the Stitts.

Justin sent the van, with Alabama magnets all over it (Jake's a Crimson Tide man!) and "met" Jake over Zoom. "It's my pleasure," Justin told Jake. "Like I said, I heard that there was a goal to try to get this van before Thanksgiving and I heard your story and I saw a little news clip about it. I was so moved that I want you guys to have this van. I'm going to cover all the costs. I want you to have a great holiday. You inspire me, Jake."

And someone told the music star that Jake did a lot to spread happiness in Morristown. Justin was all over it. "We gotta keep that going," the singer told him. "You guys gotta use this van to honk all over town now."

I'm not interested in how much money anyone has; I love hearing about the good they do with it. Way to go, Justin Timberlake.