An act of kindness on a flight from Las Vegas to Portland is going viral.
Tens of thousands of shares and counting because of the way one man treated a young boy with autism sitting next to him on the plane.
Landon, 7, was pretty scared to take his first solo flight, but his mom, Alexa Bjornson, had a whole different set of worries.
“I’m off the market for sure, definitely, but I’m flattered.”
“I thought, how do I make it so whoever’s sitting next to him won’t look at him as a burden but more of like, I can help this kiddo get through the day,” she told KATU via video conference.
Landon has autism, and traveling can be a bit turbulent. His mom didn’t know how he’d do alone, so she wrote a note to his neighbor on the plane, hoping they’d help out. She stuffed some cash inside as a thank you.
Ben Pedraza secured the lucky seat according to NBC15.
“We were cracking jokes, and after a while, he asked me to quit making dad jokes,” he said in a separate video conference.
He says the direct Southwest flight from Vegas to PDX was full of nonstop activity.
He captured a picture at the end to assure Alexa all was well.
“My heart just dropped,’ Alexa said.
And the $10 thanks? Ben donated it to the Autism Society in Landon’s honor.
The story has since gone viral, and Ben’s generosity has captured hearts online. Women are asking him if he’s single. Sorry, ladies, he’s not.
“I’m off the market for sure, definitely, but I’m flattered,” he said.
Ben will take the compliment but just hopes the attention stays on autism awareness.
