The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week, we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s Something Good is pizza, TikTok, and the kindness of strangers.
Derlin Newey is an 89 year-old pizza delivery driver who became a favorite of the Valdez family. The Utah family started asking for him by name and eventually started filming his deliveries, thanks to his friendly manner and sweet catch phrase. He always greets them with, “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
The Valdez family has more than 53,000 followers on TikTok and Derlin became a favorite on their channel, @vendingheads, when they posted videos of him, according to CNN. Carlos Valdez said, “It’s insane. Everybody loves him.”
Their followers often asked why Derlin was delivering pizzas at his age.
The Valdezes decided to use their platform to help Derlin and show him that he is appreciated. The couple asked for donations to give their favorite pizza guy a “tip”, thinking a few dollars might be collected.
In short order, their expectations were exceeded. Thanks to their TikTok community, $12,069 was raised for this “amazing person”. This past week, the family surprised Derlin at his home with a check and a T shirt with his signature “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?” printed on it.
Derlin had no idea what TikTok was but he was shocked and thankful for the gifts. He told them that he works 30 hours a week delivering pizzas because he can’t survive on Social Security. He tearfully told them he didn’t know what to say but ‘thank you’.
The surprise, recorded for TikTok, of course, went spectacularly according to Carlos. “He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him,” Carlos said. He continued, “We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does. He stole our hearts.”
Looking out for each other and lending a helping hand is definitely something good.
Now it’s your turn… Tell me Something Good
