GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids man's birthday card mix-up has led to an unexpected connection with a stranger.
"My actual birthday was last week," Devin Jacob said in a post on Instagram on May 21.
Jacobs, who works in Warren, received an envelope sent from Grand Rapids.
"So I accidentally opened it because I thought it was for me," Devin said.
Inside the envelope was a card with a colorful dinosaur, mailed by a Mike in Grand Rapids for his young nephew Declan.
"When I opened the card a $50 bill fell out," Devin said.
Realizing the card was not meant for him, Devin sent the money back to Mike.
"When I used to get birthday money when I was a kid, I mean, that's any everything I had, so I'm not going to take that from some kid," Devin said.
Devin, however, wanted to do more. In an apology letter sent back, he included a piece of artwork he had drawn – "a T Rex head coming out of a birthday cake to really emulate the card," Devin said.
Mike appeared thankful for the kind gesture from the stranger.
"He wrote back, and it was a wonderful experience, because he said he liked the dinosaur, and he seemed like a really cool guy, and that he wanted to buy me a beer. He sent me 10 bucks back," Devin said.
The blunder has now fostered a bond between the two.
"I ended up writing him back again, and I drew him a beer, and I drew Declan, the kid a Capri Sun to say thanks for the experience," Devin said.
Devin says the experience has fulfilled a childhood want.
"I remember always wanting a pen pal when I was a kid. So a lot of this is, in that spirit," Devin said.
Devin plans to meet up with the family later this week, and he's now able to talk to Mike through email, which is a lot faster than snail mail.
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