Not everyone lives to be 104, and when they do, you hope to have done enough good to warrant a celebration of your life. Gerald was undoubtedly one of them, and he was feted more than he could have expected. It all started when his son, Kevin Mills, posted on Twitter that his father was turning 104 and begged for people to give him birthday greetings.
Mills also posted a cute photo of his father. “This is my father, Gerald. “He turns 104 on July 12th,” Mills tweeted. “Do you think I can get 104 Twitter birthday wishes? He’ll be astounded and perplexed in equal measure. ” The simple birthday greeting grew into an endearing thread of individuals exchanging photographs and birthdays of people they cared about, with the bulk of them depicting elderly grandparents.
The tweet sparked a flurry of responses, and the centenarian received much more than 104 birthday greetings. The tweet received almost 423,000 likes. Adam Hill shared a photo of his baby daughter and expressed his desire that she would live as long as he did. “Congratulations on your birthday, Gerald. Flora, my three-month-old daughter, was born 12 weeks early and has just returned home to us. “I hope she makes it to 104 as well,” the message said.
While congratulating him, other people sent photos of their elderly relatives. Joanna posted a photo of her 101-year-old grandma with the caption, “Happy birthday, Gerald! Bridget, my grandmother, shares your father’s birthday and will be 101 this year! Congratulations and many, many joyful returns to these two extremely remarkable centenarians and everyone else on here! Another individual sent a photo of their infant grandchild with the caption, “Cheers Gerald! My birthday is also on July 12th, so raise a glass for us! My new granddaughter believes that the secret to a long life is to be exceptionally cute, but I believe you already know that just looking at your picture!”
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, tweeted “For Gerald” and added an emoji of a cake. Even English actor and comedian Stephen Fry joined in on the act, adding, “Happy birthday, Gerald! xx.” Another user wished Gerald well by posting a photo of himself with his grandma and her sister. “Can we get 105 likes for my 105-year-old grandmother Mary on the left and 104 for her 104-year-old sister Tina in the middle? This is from my visit with them today, where they both reside in their own houses.”
The simple tweet grew into a campaign that was even broadcast on the radio. “Happy Birthday Gerald from 94.5 KHI in Ocean City, MD,” a tweet said, before attaching a video of the presenter discussing it on the air. Sharon Steed posted a photo of her late father reclining on the sofa with a lovely puppy. “Gerald, happy birthday! My father lived to be 86 (this is him before he died with my dog, Washington); he would have probably talked your ear off and eaten all the cake with you today!”