Seen At 11: Korean War Veteran Boosts The Moods Of Brewster's Commuters
BREWSTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- We could all do with a pick-me-up from time to time.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, an ordinary man, trying to make himself feel better, boosted the mood of an entire town.
Every morning at 4:15 a.m. George Godfrey makes his way to the Brewster train station.
"Rain, snow, sleet -- yep, I'll come here," he said. "I watch the good looking women go to work in the morning and at night, I watch the tired women come home."
The 84-year-old Korean War veteran stands there for hours on end.
"You got 20 trains going out between now and 7:30," he said.
He greets each and every one of the hundreds of Metro-North Railroad commuters rushing off to work.
It all started about eight years ago.
"I just decided to come up here and say hello to people," he said.
It was better he said, than lying awake in bed alone.
"My wife passed away. Once you miss somebody, you really miss them for a long time," he said.
One by one, George eased his loneliness by befriending the entire town.
"Lynn, how are you?" he said to a passing friend.
In return, the people of Brewster welcomed his greetings with open arms.
"Can't start my morning without seeing George," one man said.
"He shows that we have a lot of good people here in the world," said John Kesich, Senior Vice President of Operations for Metro-North.
In between train departures, George warms up and helps out around the station house.
"This is what gets him through," his son Dan Godfrey said.
Dan said his friendly father has never been one to sit still -- making this the perfect fit for him.
"I'm really proud of my father, I really am," Dan said.
On the rare occasion that he might miss a morning people let him know.
"I hear about it," he said.
It's okay, believe it or not, George returns to the station every single evening in time to welcome his beloved Brewster family back home.
"I got a lot of nice friends, really," he said.
Metro North recently honored George and presented him with a certificate.
