Man who sang 'Happy Birthday' says Hurricane Harvey left him homeless, but not hopeless
Maurice Hill got another chance to display his dulcet voice to Cristala Poole.
A homeless man who enchanted thousands when he sang for a woman on her birthday was reunited with her, thanks to a little help from ABC station KTRK in Houston, Texas.
Maurice Hill got yet another chance to show off his dulcet tones when he was tracked down by Cristala Poole, whose Instagram video of him singing 'Happy Birthday' to her went viral last week. During their second meeting, he sang again for Poole, and told his story to ABC's Houston station KTRK.
Hill said he was left homeless after Hurricane Harvey, which struck Houston, Texas, in August 2017, destroying his apartment. He was left with few possessions and was forced to live under a bridge with only a duffel bag to his name, relying on food kitchens for sustenance. However, he said he never let his circumstances bring him down -- and they certainly didn't get in the way of his flair for performance.
"I love singing, I love writing music. That's what I really love to do," Hill said.
In honor of turning 35 on July 9, Poole pledged on Instagram that though her birthday didn't go the way she had hoped, she would carry out "35 random acts of kindness" in the next 35 days. As part of her second act, she bought Hill a McDonald's meal. To her delight, he expressed his gratitude by launching into a full-throated rendition of the birthday song, and her footage of it received thousands of views.
She was so touched by his vitality that she reached out to local news stations to help her find him, and ABC station KTRK in Houston helped track him down. "This turned out to be the best birthday gift anyone could have for their 35th," she later declared on Instagram.
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