THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
A retired postal worker began handing envelopes containing $50 bills to passengers on city buses Wednesday in an act of holiday charity that left him virtually broke.
Thomas Cannon, 70, left passengers shrieking in delight and dancing in the aisles on two bus routes after he gave away 46 envelopes - $2,300 in all.
``They were saying, `Thank You! God bless you! My prayers have been answered!' '' said Greater Richmond Transit Co. supervisor Fred Brown, who witnessed the scene.
Cannon, who lives on a fixed income, has given more than $83,000 - mostly in chunks of $1,000 - to Richmond-area people who he thinks need it, even though his wife is an invalid.
Cannon wanted to give each passenger and the driver $1,000 apiece Wednesday, but didn't have enough money. So he gave $50 to every passenger except one man who said he did not want it.
``I figured, heck, if I keep waiting I may never get it done. I just went ahead with what I had. It almost depleted my life's savings,'' Cannon told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
He said he chose the two buses he boarded because they were carrying people home from work, and he remembered how tough those after-work commutes were.
Brown said Cannon read a statement to the passengers as soon as he boarded each bus. It said that the bus line had given him permission to select a bus for a Christmas project. ``I selected this one. I'm calling it the `Love Bus' because I have a little gift for each of you, and love is what this season is all about,'' the statement said.
Two months ago, people who had heard about the Cannons' philanthropy donated money to buy the couple a new home and move them out of a meager house where they had lived for years.
A trust fund was also established for Cannon and his wife, and he cannot give away any of that. But he can save his monthly retirement and money people send to him. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Thomas Cannon
by CNB