With help from his dad, a boy who loves geography found a creative way to celebrate his birthday in quarantine while engaging with people around the world.
Brandon Smith, who turned 12 years old on April 11, usually marks the occasion by playing golf or going to an amusement park with his father. But with a stay-at-home order in effect in his town, Brandon decided to draw a world map and asked Twitter users to join in on the fun.
Dad Jody Smith tweeted: “This is my son, Brandon. Today is his 12th birthday. I can’t give him the party he deserves but Brandon loves geography. He would love it if you would RT or reply where you are so he can mark it on his map.”
In two days, the sixth grader received over 100,000 replies on his dad’s Twitter page. He has been pinning the locations of people who reach out.
“I had to think of something we could do. It’s his last birthday before he’s a teenager,” Jody Smith of League City, Texas, told “Good Morning America.” “Knowing his interest in maps, I figure reach out on Twitter. Thought we’d get 50 to 100 replies. Obviously it blew up more than that.”
Smith said the request went viral after Mark Hamill, who is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, sent “Greetings from Malibu, California,” to Brandon via Twitter.
Brandon has received friendly messages from people as far as Tasmania and Antarctica.
“He says its all very exciting,” Smith said of his son. “People taking time to send pictures and videos has been really nice.”
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