If you've driven along Rt. 676 in Marietta during the day odds are a certain stranger has wished you a good morning or a free smile.

" 7 days a week, 7 in the morning 'til 5 in the afternoon. No lunch break, or right here. If I go in to eat lunch I might miss someone going by and it might be someone that needs a smile."

The people who drive by Donnie Kuhn on Rt. 676 in Marietta are taking notice.

Kuhn says: "I get people that stop by and say this is cool this is cool why do you do this?"

It all started with a diagnosis.

"I have 20% lung capacity but i have 100% of heart... So I'm still here", Kuhn says.

2 1/2 years ago Kuhn's doctor told him he had severe congenital emphysema. Kuhn was given a 50% chance of being alive in 2 years. At the time he was a national guard recruiter always on the go.

"I was in that pool of people that do everything and say they want another hour in the day. If you had another hour in the day you'd just be even busier. You know, if you had 8 days a week you'd want 9. If you had 25 hours you'd want 26", says Kuhn.

So now instead of charging down the road he sits next to it.

Kuhn says: "It's all good. Life's good. You just have to slow down long enough to see that. And I see people drive by and they look at me strange but when they drive back they lay on their horns and wave and it's like, cool, just made another difference."

Helping himself by helping others have a good morning.

"If happiness is keeping me alive... I'll be alive a lot longer", he says

Kuhn says he's counted how many cars pass him each hour and it's close to 200.

He figures he's helping thousands more people to smile each day.