PARAGUAYAN DAD, 72, WAITED AT DARK BUS STOP FOR DAUGHTER
A 72-year-old Paraguayan dad stood at a dark bus stop night after night just to walk his daughter home.
Félix Cárdenas, 72, of Ñemby, Paraguay, was photographed waiting on a dark street with his arms behind his back. His daughter, Belén Cárdenas, posted the picture to Twitter on February 22, 2022, Univision reported.
“I don’t get home until around 8:30 or 9:00 and he is always waiting for me at the bus stop,” Belén wrote in the post, UPSOCL reported.
Belén works late and takes a bus home. Félix meets her at the stop so he can accompany her the rest of the way on foot.
How the routine started
Belén said her dad had been doing it since 2019. In the beginning, he didn’t wait at the stop at all. He went to her workplace to pick her up.
“The first few times, he used to go get me at work, but then he got used to the idea that he was no longer my school, that he had to learn to let go more and let me walk on my own, but he always shows up at the stops,” she told Extra.
So he moved to the bus stop instead.
Belén said he does it to ease his worry about her safety. She said she has warned him about the risks of standing outside in the dark, but he insists.
She also made clear how much it means to her. “I already thank my dad for everything he has done for me, for my siblings, and even more for my son. He has always been and continues to be an excellent father and grandfather,” she said, Aleteia reported.
What happened next
The photo took off. UPSOCL reported that Belén said it passed 1,000 shares, while Univision reported more than 25 million likes on Twitter.
Not everyone found it sweet. Some social-media users said it was more dangerous for a 72-year-old man to wait alone outside at night.
Belén answered the critics directly. She said her father gets more stressed when she doesn’t let him wait for her, so she tries to get home as fast as she can.
On February 27, 2022, she posted a follow-up message thanking people for the affection they showed her father. Univision reported she said reading the comments made him happy.
