It’s the eleventh edition of the David Begnaud newsletter! Here are some stories that’ll move you: four cops who turned a domestic call into a decisive act of compassion for a single mom and her son, a woman who’s trying to make a little boy’s Christmas wish come true, and the role Marilyn Monroe played in making sure the world knew Ella Fitzgerald.
And again, a big thank you to everyone who’s been sharing the newsletter! It really is the perfect gift to send to your friends and even your enemies. 😉
Copy/paste your unique referral link to share: {{rp_refer_url}}
And if you were lucky enough to have been forwarded this email, welcome! You can subscribe right here.
Courtesy: Commerce City Police Department
“A Grocery Run That Saved A Family”
“I’m going to leave him here alone. I don’t care if I get in trouble.”
That’s what a desperate mother told four police officers in Commerce City, Colorado, when they responded to a routine custody call earlier this month. She had no job, no food, and her SNAP benefits had been delayed. With eviction days away and a five-year-old son she couldn’t feed, she’d reached her breaking point.
It broke the woman’s heart, but she just wanted to leave her son at his father’s house, hoping that he would ultimately be taken care of… even if he couldn’t take the child for “legal reasons.”
“She was just kind of at her wits’ end,” one of the officers recalled.
What happened next could’ve gone a dozen different directions. But instead of enforcing the law, the officers — Bryce Laude, Wade Wedel, Dominic Iacovetta, and Tulley Cabanilla — did something simple. They reached for compassion.
“Behind the badge and gun, we’re humans too,” one of the officers told me. Officer Iacovetta was one of four kids raised by a single mom. Officer Cabanilla was a new dad.
Standing outside the boy’s father’s home, the officers realized the system couldn’t move fast enough to help. The woman still had her car, a few days left in her home, and a sliver of time to turn things around.
So, the officers opened their hearts and their wallets. Pooling their money together, they drove her to a nearby supermarket. They filled a cart with groceries and paid for it themselves, determined that she and her son wouldn’t go hungry that week.
“We decided as a team to just chip in,” one officer said. “If we all throw in a little money, it’d be easy to afford food for a few days.”
Courtesy: Commerce City Police Department
While the woman shopped with the officers — their badges still on, which must’ve been quite the sight! — Officer Laude phoned local outreach programs to secure longer-term support.
For the team, the choice wasn’t about recognition — it was about humanity. They’ve seen what desperation looks like up close and how quickly one act of compassion can change a life.
“We just want to help people when they’re at their lowest and give them a chance to move forward,” one of the officers told me.
In a time when the news often dwells on interactions with police that go wrong, these four officers showed the quiet way that they often go right. They just don’t typically make headlines.
Officer Laude later reflected that moments like this are why he joined the force. “We’re responding to calls when people are having the worst day of their lives,” he said. “It’s probably one of the most rewarding things we can do.”
It goes to show that, sometimes, compassion is the best protocol.
Your Feedback…
Here’s a reaction from our Beg-Knows America segment this week — “Blooming A Dream”
“Thank you, David! Just so you know, I have a special box of tissues dedicated for your stories!”
Send us your thoughts for a chance to be featured.
To do so, simply reply to this email or click the button below.
More Good Stories
☀️ This is what the season is all about. A woman told a little boy who always stopped to see her Christmas decorations that the oversized mailbox on her lawn had a direct line to Santa. The next day, he came back with a letter… and what was inside moved the woman to tears.
Courtesy: magicandmayhemz
Courtesy: Mohamed Emlemdi
☀️ Sometimes, people are dropped into your life in order to save it. When college student Mohamed Emlemdi was suddenly diagnosed with kidney failure, it was his randomly-assigned roommate, Julian Litvak, who stepped up to the plate and donated his own.
What kind of good news do you actually click on?
The results are in, and almost 58% of you think I’m a madman for wanting to put up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving. I have a hunch that Jeremy, my partner, may have voted more than once here. 😉
Spotlight:
Please Be Kind
Courtesy: Ken Engleman
I want to spotlight a man who is changing the world… with a catchphrase.
Marketing professional and founder of Community Volunteers United, Ken Engleman, had an ingenious idea when he learned that political lawn signs are just trashed after a local election. He would collect them, spray paint over the divisive messages, and scrawl a new, unifying slogan — “Please Be Kind.”
Ken started putting up the signs around his neighborhood in Branford, Connecticut, and surrounding towns… placing them at every intersection, storefront, and community green space he could. We asked why he started doing it, and he said, “Someone needs to put kindness back into the public conversation, and I chose to be that someone.”
And as kindness usually does, demand spread. Calls came in from all over the state for signs. The message appeared on digital billboards, stickers, and even in graduation speeches. Visitors from Texas even wanted to replicate the model there.
Ken thinks big like me, so he’s already planning to put the slogan on jumbotrons, athletic uniforms, and lip service from celebrities — anything, he says, to “improve the health and well-being of communities near and far.”
Keep shouting kindness from the mountaintop, Ken!
Blooming A Dream
Click image to watch
When then-eight-year-old Marianne was set to be the flower girl in her dad’s cousin’s wedding, she thought it would be the highlight of her childhood. But when she was struck with measles just before the big day, she was heartbroken to learn that she wouldn’t be able to perform her duties.
Fast forward decades later to the pandemic of 2020. Marianne, not wanting to go to the grocery store alone, turned to the app Nextdoor to see if someone would be kind enough to accompany her. A neighbor named Elizabeth volunteered. The kindly neighbor not only became an important point of connection during the isolation, but she would even leave flowers for Marianne, which really cheered her up during the dark time.
A few years into their friendship, Elizabeth and her boyfriend had a daughter named Willa and decided to tie the knot. In what could only be described as a twist for the ages, Elizabeth asked Marianne to join the now-three-year-old Willa as a flower girl… fulfilling a dream 80 years in the making.
SHARE THE GOOD
Referral Program
Invite a friend to subscribe to this newsletter. If they join, you’ll get a shoutout right here.
A big thank you to: Kelly Shelley!
Copy-paste your unique code: {{rp_refer_url}}
Good Ol’ News:
Lifting A Voice
Historically good stories
In the 1950s, legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald may have had fans all across the US, but she couldn’t play anywhere other than small jazz clubs. Venue owners just didn’t think anyone would pay to see a larger, Black woman take the stage. That is, until Marilyn Monroe got involved.
Marilyn first encountered Ella’s powerful voice when it was recommended to her as a way to improve her own singing. Enthralled by what she heard, Marilyn sought her out and struck up a friendship, deepened by similar childhood trauma. When Marilyn got wind that Mocambo, the famous LA nightclub, wouldn’t book her, Marilyn offered to sit at the front of the house every night and bring celebrity friends if they did. The Mocambo agreed, and Ella found herself center stage.
Marilyn kept her word, but she soon wasn’t the main draw — it was Ella. She sold out shows, her contract was extended, and then every venue across the country wanted to book the “Queen of Jazz.”
Goodie Bag
👩💻 When Zara Jarvis filmed herself telling her boss that she was flying across the world for a job interview with The Diary of a CEO founder Steven Bartlett, she could’ve never imagined the words of praise and encouragement she was met with. (Also, spoiler alert: she got the job.)
📱 After Jenn Wilson posted a video of a man scrolling through a resume from a “Scott Kelly” on his phone during a Jonas Brothers concert, it went viral on TikTok. And in a twist of fate, the employment offers for Scott started pouring in. That’s one way to get noticed!
🦔 Scottish couple Sharon and Andy Longhurst turned their home into a hedgehog hospital three years ago, with a maternity ward in the garden and an ICU in the garage. Since then, they have treated 567 of the adorable critters, with no plans on stopping.
What I’m Enjoying
It may surprise you, but I’m enjoying The Kardashians. My mind is constantly going, and I have to literally meditate at night to go to sleep and to turn my brain off! I usually never watch mindless TV that’s just fun and lavish, but I watched The Kardashians… and I love it. I respect their success and love the show’s frills and lightheartedness. Plus, it’s a lifestyle I can only imagine. Don’t judge!
Made with love by David Begnaud and the team.
Stories that set your soul on fire.
