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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Whether or not a Florida State football player makes it big in the pros, he’ll have a fan for life thanks to his actions off the field.
Travis Rudolph, who plays wide receiver for the Seminoles, paid a visit to Montford Middle School in Tallahassee this week. As he entered the lunch room, he noticed student Bo Paske sitting by himself at a table, so he decided to sit down across from him so he wouldn’t be alone, ESPN reported.
A kind act on its own, but one that becomes even more remarkable when you hear Bo’s story — which his mother shared on Facebook Tuesday, along with a photo of Travis and Bo eating together.
“I’m not sure what made this incredibly kind man share a lunch table with my son, but I’m happy to say that it will not soon be forgotten,” Leah Paski wrote.
Most days, Paski says, Bo sits by himself in the cafeteria. Not because he is mean, exclusive or disinterested.
“He is a super sweet child who always has a smile and a hug for everyone he meets,” Paski wrote.
Bo is different from most of the kids with whom he goes to school, because Bo has autism.
“Sometimes I’m grateful for his autism,” Paski wrote. “That may sound like a terrible thing to say, but in some ways … I hope it shields him. He doesn’t seem to notice when people stare at him when he flaps his hands. He doesn’t seem to notice that he doesn’t get invited to birthday parties anymore. And he doesn’t seem to mind if he eats lunch alone.”
Still, the idea of her beloved boy sitting without a friend breaks his mother’s heart. So when she received the text from her friend with the picture of Travis and Bo, she found herself in tears.
“This is one day I didn’t have to worry if my sweet boy ate lunch alone, because he sat across from someone who is a hero in many eyes,” Paski wrote.
As of Tuesday night, Paski’s post had been shared more than 5,800 times on Facebook. The photo made it all the way back to Rudolph, who admitted to choking up when he read Paski’s open letter.
“He’s a cool person, I’ll hang out with him any day,” Rudolph told WCTV sports anchor Kenny Morales. “And for the mom, if he needs my (cell) number, he can get it.”
Rudolph said he and Bo had a great conversation, and called him a “great kid overall.”
“I remember what the impact was of guys that played in college and in the NFL coming back to us,” he told ESPN. “I feel like maybe I can change someone’s life or I can make someone a better person or make someone want to be great or be like me, or even better.”
