Addie Rodriguez, 9, cheered on her St. John Bosco Elementary School football team, but she felt like booed because of not having a dad on her side. A senior high student ran to her rescue and reversed her tears to joy.
The ceremony involved fathers of the girls at one portion and had to lift their kids onto their shoulders. Addie started crying during that time since her dad was on training at Travis Air Force Base in California. A teen guy from the opposing team ran to her and even jumped over the fence to be the dad in a few minutes.
Matthew Garcia, the boy who rescued Rodriguez is a senior at Central Catholic High School. "I ran down from the bleachers right here," he told News 4 San Antonio, "and I just hopped the fence, and I went over, and I kneeled down, I talked to her and I said, 'Are you OK?'"
No wonder people applauded the teen guy for his gesture. The little girl's dad, Abel Rodriguez expressed his gratitude through Facebook.
"Mom missed the memo it was parent day and the reason her mom missed the memo was her dad left Wednesday," Addie's mom, Alexis Perry-Rodriguez, told News 4 San Antonio.
The incident however was alarming for many people against the insensitivities of many schools today. Some kids do not have their parents to attend in their school activities like Addie's situation. Her dad for example serving the country and was even sent to Iraq and Afghanistan for a military mission.
Addie's mom said that it was really heartbreaking to see her daughter that way when she knows that her dad is serving the country, ScaryMommy reported. Nonetheless, there are still many loving strangers who become family to kids like Addie.
Statistics say that one in 2 kids live a single parent family at some point in childhood and one in 25 lives with no parent at all. If these unfortunate kids go to school and put in a situation like Addie had, how sorrowful it will be to see more kids suffer from shame and ungrateful feeling of not having parents on their side.
