A boy's simple habit of waving to his neighbors transformed his community
Roman Butzlaff brought together a group of neighbors who say they would have barely known each other if not for a little boy, who lived in a neighborhood but needed a village.
CONCORD, North Carolina — Not many children crave connection more than 4-year-old Roman Butzlaff. If you pass by his house in Concord, North Carolina, he will surely greet you with a wave and a "hey."
"He wakes up every day excited to say 'hi' to somebody, like, that's the first thing he wants to do," his mother, Anna Butzlaff, told CBS News.
And yet, she said that for the longest time, Roman's cheeriness belied an inner loneliness. About a year ago, his parents broke up. His father moved to Florida, and his grandparents lived out of state as well.
But fortunately, all those seeds of kindness he had planted began to bloom. It started with Wade Fulgum, who lives across the street from Roman.
Fulgum went over to meet the boy who was always waving. They started doing things together. Eventually, other neighbors followed suit. They would stop and chat or even take part in activities such as drag racing down the street.
Anna Butzlaff said it was initially a bit strange because she barely knew any of these people.