Tom Hanks surprised an 8-year-old Australian boy who was being bullied partly because he was named Corona. It all started when Corona De Vries wrote to Tom and his wife Rita Wilson after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. He wrote: “I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the Coronavirus. Are you ok? I love my name but at school, people call me the Coronavirus. I get very sad and angry when people call me this.” Tom saw the letter and replied with a special gift.
… Tom wrote to the boy: “Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful. Thank you for being such a good friend. Friends make their friends feel good when they are down. I saw you on TV, even though I was back in the USA already — and all healthy. Even though I was no longer sick, getting your letter made me feel even better.” Tom gifted the young boy a Corona brand typewriter that’s in his collection. Tom later wrote in his personal letter to Corona, “Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back… You’ve got a friend in me.”
Photo: Getty images