Lonely 4-Year-Old Brings North Carolina Neighbors Together

Roman was just four years old when he decided loneliness wasn't going to win. After his parents divorced and his father moved away, the Concord preschooler started waking up every morning with one mission: find someone to say hello to.

He stationed himself by the front door and waved at everyone. The garbage collector. Amazon drivers. Neighbors his mom Anna Butzloff had never actually met. In a world where people barely know who lives next door, Roman refused to be a stranger.

Then something remarkable happened. The neighbors started waving back, and they didn't stop there.

Wade Folger, a retired man living next door, was the first to cross the invisible line between houses. He came over to talk, then started inviting Roman to hang out. Soon other neighbors followed, drawn in by the persistent joy of a kid who just wanted friends.

Butzloff watched in amazement as her son's world expanded. She didn't know how to process it at first, but she couldn't argue with the results. Roman was happy again.

The boy who needed a village ended up building one instead. He invited his senior citizen friends to his swim meets, basketball games, soccer practices, and baseball sessions. They came to his preschool open house and cheered him on during his bike races down the block.

When his birthday arrived, Butzloff knew exactly who to put on the guest list.

Sunny's Take

CBS correspondent Steve Hartman gathered the neighbors together to ask what it all meant. Most of them came from a different generation than Butzloff, but they had one thing in common: they hadn't known each other either. Now they wave at each other, just like Roman taught them.

"Look at what this little kid has built," one neighbor marveled. Another paused before adding, "It does a world of good."

The eldest among them put it simply: "If the world was like this child, what an awesome, awesome place it would be."

Roman's loneliness became his superpower, transforming a street full of strangers into something that looks a lot like family.