Cleveland School bus

It was my best wish in the 17 years since my husband has been gone. I got to hug them all.

MENTOR, Ohio - Doris Vehar heads to the tree lawn to take her trash can into the garage when the burly garbage collector jumps from his truck and heads her way.

"Happy birthday!" he yells with a big grin, closing the snowy gap between them in two long strides.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" the 88-year-old grandmother asks, a bit startled.

"I saw the video on Facebook!" he laughs. Vehar shakes her head, and the two chat about the weird day full of strangers wishing her well.

As the garbage truck pulls away, Vehar spots neighbor Kathy Latino and her dog, Ellie. Vehar watches Ellie pull Latino across the front lawn, and the three enter Vehar's neat home, just a block from Fairfax Elementary.

"The rubbish man just stopped to wish me happy birthday, " Vehar tells Latino. "Look what you've started!"

Two days earlier, Latino was on her daily walk with Ellie when school bus 46 pulled down their street. As always, Vehar was outside, at the end of her driveway, to greet the students with waves and air kisses.

Only this time, the bus stopped, and all the children leaned out the windows and sang happy birthday to the woman they call "grandma." Latino pulled out her cell phone and shot a video of the heartwarming moment, and posted it on Facebook.

Since then, some of the love the energetic widow gives the world has been returning to her, via telephone calls, birthday cards, even visits from the media. The video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.