He gathers the buggies outside the Publix supermarket just over a mile from the line between Jefferson and Shelby counties.

He’s 54 years old and doesn’t look a day over 34.

He’s 5-foot-6, 145 pounds soaking wet. It’s cloudy and drizzling. The temperature hovers in the low 50s and falling. He limps as he pushes the buggies toward the front door of the store.

And he’s the most inspiring, positive, influential bag boy in America.

“Hi, Joey!” says the 40-something-year-old mother with two kids in tow.

“Hey, Joey!” says the elderly woman who parked in the handicapped space.

“Hi, Joey!” says the young father who is stopping by Publix with a kindergartner and a toddler in tow.

This is the story about a man who for decades has shown the world what kindness is all about.

It’s the story of

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