KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A Knoxville boy and the garbage man who comes to his apartment complex have developed a special connection.
Four-year-old Jackson has always loved trucks, so Tuesday mornings, when Charles and the other Waste Management workers show up in their garbage truck, are his favorite.
“Jackson gets so excited,” said Dallas King, Jackson’s mom. “He always wants to give them things.’
Dallas says Jackson gives Charles bottles of water, biscuits, or once, a hand-drawn picture.
“He’s so sweet to Jackson,” Dallas said. “Even if it’s raining outside, Charles gets out of his truck and gets down on one knee to make eye contact with him.”
She says the trash men go above and beyond to put a smile on Jackson’s face. One day Charles even brought Jackson a super hero coloring book.
In fact, Jackson chose to dress up as the “dump man,” as he calls Charles, for Halloween.
“I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he said ‘the Dump Man makes me super happy. He always makes me smile,’” remembers Dallas.
Jackson, who likes playing flag football, building things and dinosaurs, says he wants to be a “dump man” or a Tennessee football player when he grows up.