SALTILLO, Mexico Mexican President Vicente Fox took some time out from affairs of state on recently to give a blind boy a personal tour of the presidential plane.

During a short trip to the northern city of Saltillo, Fox was met by 25 children from a government-run home for orphaned or troubled youths, including 7-year-old Bonifacio Rodriguez.

Bonifacio, who was blinded by his father's beatings and forced to beg for money on the streets, was intrigued by the noise of Fox's jet and asked him if he could get on board, Reuters reported.

Fox, a father of four adopted children who often shirks the stuffy traditions of Mexico's presidency, picked up the boy, carried him onto the plane and put him into the presidential seat. "This is the seat I travel in," Fox told him.

"But I want to fly," said the boy.

Bonifacio didn't get his wish on that day, but he may do soon -- a Spanish couple has applied to adopt him.

"Boni is a very special boy. He has had a star over him since he was born," said Maria Morales, director of the children's home. "Beautiful things happen to him, like today."