July 2008 – Vol. V, Issue 3
Feature Article: Who is Happy Guy?
by Sara Hurd, CFCC
Every once in a while, you come across a genuinely fantastic human interest story. Such is the story of “Happy Guy,” a random stranger whose wide grin graced a photo in a trash bin, and Nate Sturdy, a guy down on his luck who found the photo and experienced a reawakening.
Seven years ago, Nate Sturdy had lost his job, his girlfriend, his apartment, and had been to the hospital twice–all in the course of one month! He was, naturally, feeling a bit blue. When cleaning at a hotel in Banff, Canada, he came across a photo that had been tossed into the trash. The smile that stared out at him made him stare back. He was drawn in by the huge smile, and felt like the “Happy Guy” was telling him it would all be okay. He posted the photo on the fridge as a reminder that there is plenty to smile about, and kept it for seven years. In the meantime, his family back in Australia would tell anyone who would listen the story of Happy Guy, and his brother decided to post a group on Facebook and a webpage, whoishappyguy.com. What began then was a worldwide search for the real Happy Guy, which recently had a very happy ending.
Paul Daggett had been snapped in a candid photo by a good friend. Thinking his smile was a bit goofy, he threw it in the trash in his hotel room. Seven years later, the daughters of a good friend called to tell the family that he was now an internet phenomenon. He emailed Nate and his brother last October, and in June of this year, they traveled from Australia to meet Paul at Banff National Park and return the photo.
Along the way, Nate and Paul have inspired countless of internet visitors to look for the good in life. Will you be inspired, too?
Note: There is lots of information about the story on the Facebook group, but you can also view part of the story at YouTube.
