97-year-old WWII veteran says life is worth living again after surprise from TikTok creator
A local TikTok creator surprised a 97-year-old WWII veteran with a trip to Disneyland and a Rams game.
SOUTH GATE, Calif. (KABC) -- At 97 years old, William Goode said he thought his life was over. He said he lost the will to go on after outliving his wife and three children.
That is until Goode met local TikTok creator Isaiah Garza through his caregiver.
"I put up an ad on craigslist and it was like a fake ad. And when his caregiver called me, I was like, 'Look I'm going to be honest with you, the ad is not real,'" Garza said.
The ad wasn't real in what it was advertising, but the intention from Garza was real. He wanted to find a senior citizen to surprise.
Garza surprised Goode with a trip to Disneyland. Goode says the last time he went was with his family 50 years ago.
"This guy is the best. Nobody has ever wanted to take me to Disneyland or take me out, nobody would do that," Goode said.
"I said look Mr. Goode, your life is going to change forever after this. And then I posted that Disneyland video and probably all together got 150 million views," Garza said.
But the adventures didn't stop there. Garza also surprised Goode with a trip to see his favorite football team, the Rams.
"When he came over personally to shake my hand, oh boy. I'll never forget that," Goode said.
Garza said his mission to help others was sparked by his own personal struggles of experiencing homelessness.
"When I was sleeping in abandoned buildings ... I would always tell myself, 'Oh man, wait until the world sees what I do with all this energy I'm going to harness from this,'" Garza said.
Garza said he hopes his TikTok videos with Goode bring people joy and inspire others to want to make a difference.
"Nobody has ever cared for me like him," Goode said.
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