Our next guest has been a UPS mail carrier for 16 years.
He is so loved by his community that hundreds of residents
lined the streets and surprised him
with a parade to say thank you.
The story went viral with over 100 million views
from Powhatan, Virginia.
Please welcome Anthony Gaskin.
Hi, Ellen.
Anthony, hi.
Hi.
Powha-tan.
Pow-hatan.
Powhatan.
You got it.
All right.
It's so nice to meet you.
This past year, you have been working nonstop
on the front lines of the pandemic,
so I say thank you along with everybody else with everyone
else who has thanked you.
Very welcome.
I mean, we all were depending on all those deliveries
and you all kept working.
How has this year been for you?
Well, it's been hectic and kind of stressful,
but we realized what our position entail,
that people are actually depending on us
and what we had to do and we set about doing it, and we did it.
Yes, you did.
We're still doing it.
Yes.
And your community surprised you with a parade to say thank you.
What was that day like?
Oh, wow, Ellen.
It was a shot, caught me completely off guard.
Everybody knew except me.
My supervisors were in on it.
They called me back to a location.
And I'm heading up the street and I see cars lined everywhere
and signs, and horns, and dogs, wag and barking,
and kids telling me they love me.
And my heart's about to jump out of my body,
and the only thing I can think of
is trying to find the escape route.
Yeah.
And there was none.
No.
So the story went viral and caught
a lot of people's attention, obviously.
That's why I'm talking to you.
What's the response been like?
Now, you have more people even than that parade.
Wow, yeah.
A lot of things that I'd never expected in my life.
You know, I'm old country boy from Powhatan County.
And this one thing, it kind of ballooned.
You know, I did this segment for the inauguration.
I got to introduce Bon Jovi to the inauguration.
And now, I'm talking to Ellen.
But, you know, it's kind of gradually--
I'm getting used to it now.
Yeah.
Sure.
It was a shock at first.
Sure.
I'm sure you're getting used to it.
It's lovely for people to tell you how much they love you.
I know you thought the parade was everything.
We have a little surprise for you.
Take a look at this.
Hi, Mr. Anthony.
We are so thankful to have you as part of our community.
We appreciate everything you do and all the
packages you deliver with a smile on your face.
Thank you so much for your service.
Thank you for being so genuine.
You are part of our community and we are so grateful.
I feel like we hit the jackpot.
We really appreciate you.
Thank you for sending all the mail to us everyday.
We do love you.
Thank you for everything that you do.
The risk that you've incurred to do this through a pandemic
isn't something that you signed up for,
but you've done it with a smile on your face.
Thank you so much for taking care of our pets
and giving them treats.
Thank you for being an awesome person
and giving us hope as a world that people
like yourself still exist during these difficult times.
Always smiling, always willing to lend a hand.
And no matter what might be going on in your life,
no one knows anything other than how wonderful you are to them
You are the best.
Bye, Mr. Anthony, we love you.
Bye-bye.
Wow.
Well, we also sent you a package to say thank you for all
you do.
Patty, your neighbor is there.
Patty, bring in your package, please.
My friends at Shutterfly love helping people like you.
They know you're trying to save money
to send your son to college, so they want to give you $10,000.
My goodness.
Oh, my god.
Ellen, wow.
Wow.
We love you, Anthony.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
All right.
I hope to see you someday in person.
Same here.
All right.
We'll be right back.