No matter how long it took, or how much birthday money he would have to save, the 6-year-old South Carolina boy named Bell would spend his special day in "The Happiest Place On Earth."

And, as local TV station reports, he was pretty close to realizing that dream, planning for a visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom just in time for his seventh birthday this month.

Then he heard the story of the hurricane: how it transformed the Bahamas into the unhappiest place on Earth—and how it continues to churn up(搅动)the East Coast, leaving tears in its wake.

How could Bell dream of Disney World when so many others were living a nightmare?

So the boy gathered his savings—and went to the grocery store. Instead of a romp(嬉闹)in Disney's Animal Kingdom, Bell bought much-needed food and water for thousands of people forced to leave their homes in advance of the storm.

“The people that are traveling to go to places, I wanted them to have some food to eat, so they can enjoy the ride to the place that they're going to stay at,” Bell told a reporter. Indeed, Bell made it hard for anyone to miss his offer. He pulled a couple of homemade signs to Highway 125 in Allendale with the words "Free hot dogs and water" on them. And he stood at the side of that highway, calling out to motorists, many of them tired and traumatized after leaving their homes behind. In all, he served more than 100 evacuees(被撤离者).

"I am very proud," his grandmother Aretha Grant told CNN. "We knew Bell was very special, but we didn't know he was special in this way, to be such a giver like this."

Indeed, at his little stand in Allendale, Bell is giving people something much more precious than hot dogs. He's offering hope—and along the way, the little boy with the big heart is making his own magic kingdom.

When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming different kinds of people in the future. Sometimes, I wished I was an astronaut going up into space, finding new planets and jumping around in a cool spacesuit. Sometimes, I imagined being a cowboy in the Wild West, wearing cool cowboy boots. On other occasions, I pretended to be a famous footballer, using my skills to score lots of goals for my team.

Looking back, I realize that imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios (剧情梗概) in my head, using nothing more than my brain, and make things in my everyday surroundings to fit a story of the day. Growing up with siblings (兄弟姐妹)also helped, as it meant that even bigger stories could be created. We could combine our ideas and put our thoughts into action. It also allowed for more varieties (变化) in the stories, as sometimes I could be a hero while on other occasions, I would be a bad guy.

One of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was playing in my back garden. I played the role of Indiana Jones with my younger sister as my assistant and my brother as a bad person. We used everything in our garden, from the path to the fence, as a part of the storyline to create troubles that needed to be overcome, and we would keep the story going for hours!

My personal favorite game was searching the Easter eggs. My brother hid small chocolate eggs around the garden and my sister and I had to find them by answering questions or solving a puzzle. It was difficult, but finally we found all the eggs and shared them together.

The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what’s important.

—Anonymous

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage (rubbish) trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy with what you did.

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do anymore."

Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you'll be happier. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't.