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Navy vet collapses after finding out that Dwayne Johnson is gifting him his personal truck

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The Rock and Oscar Rodriguez on Instagram.

As the old saying goes, “do good and it will come back to you in unexpected ways.”

Sometimes those “unexpected ways” come in four-wheel drive.

Oscar Rodriguez is a Navy veteran, church leader and personal trainer in Culver City, California. More important than that, he is a good person with a giving heart. In addition to taking care of his 75-year-old mom, he also makes meals for women victims of domestic violence.

Rodriguez thought he won the ultimate prize: going to a special VIP screening of Dwayne Johnson's new film "Red Notice," and getting pulled up on stage by The Rock himself. But it only got better from there.

Thanking him for his service, praising him for giving back to his community and bonding with him as a fellow “mamma’s boy,” Johnson stands with Rodriguez on the stage exchanging hugs … until Johnson says “I wanna show you something real quick.”

A video on The Rock’s Instagram shows the two walking out to a giant black Ford Raptor pick-up truck, where Johnson grabs a note and hands it to Rodriguez, saying, “I wrote this card for you. It’s a little thing.”

Playing along, a bewildered Rodriguez reads: “Thank you for your service brother. Enjoy your new tru-”

Rodriguez collapsed with tears before finishing his sentence. And rightly so. It’s not every day you're gifted Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s very own custom truck.

The caption on Johnson’s post explains that he originally planned to give Rodriguez the same Porsche Taycan driven in the movie. Porsche said no, but the Rock still said yes, and aimed to “do one better.”

Honestly, I don’t know which is more heartwarming: the fact that this fan gets the ultimate surprise from one of his heroes, or seeing two grown men with such a huge display of emotion.

Bursting up from the ground, Rodriguez goes in for yet another hug with the Hollywood icon. His voice high and cracking from passion, he exclaims, “Yo, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen you in this truck,” while sobbing and holding his chest. Rodriguez then Facetimes his girlfriend, and shrieks of “oh my god” can be heard from the phone.

As Rodriguez peels out of the parking lot in style, Johnson tells viewers “his laundry list of caring credentials, it's pretty amazing. So it’s just an honor for me to bring a little bit of joy to a dude who deserves probably a lot more than just my truck.” Not missing a beat, he adds “and now I can figure out…how to get home.”

The Rock might be without a car, but Oscar Rodriguez now has a daily reminder that kindness matters, and that acts of generosity do get noticed. Something tells me that he does these things from something other than extrinsic motivation. Still, a new car always helps.

On Thanksgiving, Rodriguez posted that he plans to emulate Johnson’s positivity, using the “new whip” to pay it forward by encouraging people and lifting their spirits, bringing cheer.

As Rodriguez’s story reminds us, “it’s just love.” Wonderful, surprising moments happen when we remember to act from our hearts.

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A man explains why he treated a knife-wielding mugger with kindness and respect.

Image created with photos from Pixabay.

An unexpected outcome to a dangerous situation.

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#WhoWeAre

Julio Diaz's mom used to tell him, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

But his mom never said anything about a stranger with a knife.

One day, on his way home from work, Diaz was confronted by a blade-wielding teenager. The kid wanted his money, or else.


So, like most people would, Diaz complied. He handed over his wallet. But as he watched the teenage boy walk away, Diaz decided to do something that most people wouldn't: He offered the kid his coat too. After all, it was a cold night.

Then, Diaz invited the boy to dinner at his favorite diner. It wasn't a trap. It wasn't a ploy to get his wallet back. According to Diaz, it was just the right thing to do.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

He offered the kid his coat too. After all, it was a cold night.

The two sat down for a hot meal together.

They talked, and they laughed. Diaz hoped that maybe, after the night was over, the kid would go on to pay it forward in his own life.

"If you treat people right," Diaz says, "you can only hope they treat you right."

Hear the full story of Julio Diaz's brave generosity in the video below:


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A complete stranger paid this man's $2,000 car bill, no questions asked.

An awesome lesson in human kindness.

When you were a child, this may have been the most frightening situation you could imagine:

Pure terror. Photo via iStock.

But now that you're an adult, I'd guess that this situation is far more anxiety-inducing:

Photo via iStock.

Like the dreaded dentist's appointment, an unexpected trip to the auto mechanic rarely signals fun times ahead. Instead, car troubles fill our hearts with fear and, even worse, our wallets with emptiness. Three hundred dollars for a radiator hose?! Sure, I guess that sounds right... (*cries into checkbook*).

In early March, Keith Burkitt of Houston, Texas, was just like the rest of us: a driver putting off a trip to the auto repair shop.

As Burkitt told ABC affiliate KTRK, his car's alignment was shot, but he knew that fixing it would cost a lot more than he could afford at the time. While speaking with a customer at the restaurant where he worked, Burkitt joked, "I had to turn my wheel all the way to the right just to make the car go straight."

But what happened next was something right out of "Pay It Forward." Despite the fact that he didn't even know the server's last name, the customer in question told Burkitt he had "a friend across the street who could fix it."

Even more incredible?

The customer offered to pay Burkitt's bill, no matter what it cost.

So the next morning, an astonished Burkitt took his car to the mechanic at the Exxon station the customer had mentioned. He replaced all four shocks and struts on Burkitt's car, cleaned his fuel lines, and replaced his timing and serpentine belts. The total cost was a whopping $1,975.

True to his word, the near-stranger had already covered the bill in full. When Burkitt attempted to partially reimburse him, the stranger reminded him of the power of generosity:

"He just said, 'I'm not taking no for an answer, just pay it forward someday,'" Burkitt told ABC News.

We've seen many instances of people "paying it forward" before.

Don't forget about the church that (literally) paid it forward by giving a pizza delivery guy a $700 tip, and the police officer who gave out presents instead of tickets one afternoon in December.

Whether it's something as simple as holding a door for a stranger or donating blood or volunteering some of your time on the occasional weekend, stories like these can inspire each of us to better the world around us in small ways, because paying it forward can be about so much more than money.

This kind of story also makes me believe that every single human possesses true kindness. Maybe being the change you want to see in the world is not just some lofty ideal that we should all aspire to — maybe it's actually just a matter of pure will.

So the next time your faith in humanity is rocked (which, given our current political climate, has probably already happened twice today alone), ask yourself what you can do to restore it.

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