The Daily Populous Friday May 22nd, 2026 day edition
Authored by today.com and submitted by Eddiearyee

When Brian Wilson first met Dan Simpson, a Domino’s pizza delivery driver, on his porch in Boise, Idaho, he had no idea the impact they would have on each other.

“Just such a simple act, I think, was a catalyst,” Wilson tells TODAY.com.

Simpson was working a busy Friday night shift on March 27 when he received his latest delivery order: one pan pizza with “double pepperoni” and a 2-liter Diet Coke. There was just one problem, though — his shop was out of the soda.

In a March 28 Ring camera video posted by Wilson’s wife on TikTok, Simpson’s simple act of kindness is shown: The pizza delivery driver arrives at the door at 8:41 p.m., telling Wilson that he tried to call but didn’t get an answer.

“We were out of Diet Coke,” Simpson says. “I stopped at the store.”

“Oh?” Wilson replies, with a little shock. “You did not have to do that. Did you really?”

Wilson offers to increase his $6.60 tip, but Simpson refuses, saying it’s a “good tip.” After shaking hands with his customer, Simpson shares something with him.

“14 years I’ve worked,” he says. “I’m retiring in 26 days.”

The video quickly went viral, with more than 3 million views and praise sprinkled all over the comments section like mozzarella on a pizza.

“He STOPPED BY THE STORE?! OMG,” exclaimed one commenter.

“That means he paid for your soda himself 😭,” noted another.

Simpson’s Act Meant the World to the Wilsons

“What was going through my head was, ‘Dan doesn’t really know our story,’” Wilson says, recalling why he was so taken aback in the video.

“What he doesn’t know is that we’re both visually impaired. My wife is legally blind; she is not able to drive at all, and I’m limited to daytime driving only.”

Wilson says he and his wife both have retinitis pigmentosa, a term for a group of conditions that cause retinal cells to degrade over time, leading to vision loss and blindness, according to the National Eye Institute.

“Even without knowing that piece of information, the fact that he still went above and beyond is what kind of settled in with us,” Wilson says. “It just kind of blew us away.”

Strangers Raise Money for ‘Dan the Pizza Man’

Wilson says he’d wanted to tip Simpson more but didn’t have cash on hand, so he stopped by the shop the next day to give him an additional $50 tip.

Commenters suggested the Wilsons start a GoFundMe to give Simpson a bit of a send-off, so they did, titling it “Tip for Dan the Pizza Man’s Retirement.”

“On a busy Friday night. During deliveries. Completely out of his own time and effort,” the GoFundMe reads. “That level of care and kindness is rare these days.”

That first day, people donated a few thousand dollars, but as of this writing, it is sitting at over $152,000.

“I feel like we have become kind of his adopted grandkids at this point,” Wilson says, adding that Simpson stopped by to drop off three additional 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and a Domino’s gift certificate.

“These are good people,” Simpson says. “They really didn’t need to go to that trouble. They really didn’t.”

Simpson shares he is 24 years sober and thinks this might be a “byproduct of all the hard work” he’s put in.

“I believe the good Lord is blessing me just before my retirement,” Simpson says.

A Domino’s representative tells TODAY.com that Dan’s actions “reflect the genuine kindness and commitment he brings to his role” and “are a powerful reminder that small acts of service can sometimes leave the greatest impact.”

He’s Retiring, but He’s Not Quitting

In a few weeks, Simpson will be retiring from his day job working at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture as a seed analyst. One of his dreams is to see the redwood forests.

“I’ve turned into a native plant freak because of my background and my schooling,” he says, adding that he would love spending a week or two observing and taking photos of native plants.

But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up his side hustle at Domino’s.

“I really like the kids I work with. I really like working there,” Simpson says. “You know, an old guy’s got to stay active.”

SoCalThrowAway7 on May 22nd, 2026 at 01:53 UTC »

Uplifting news is so depressing sometimes

scyrius on May 22nd, 2026 at 00:57 UTC »

This is a late stage capitalist hellscape story dressed up as a feel good. WTAF. Lemme go ahead and rewrite the title. It's a bit long. "Man old enough to be retired yet still forced to work as a pizza delivery driver to survive given enough money to live comfortably for a few years before he'll be forced back into slave wage jobs until he dies."

joestaff on May 21st, 2026 at 23:38 UTC »

That's a massive tip, does he have to pay income tax on it?