Welcome to the tenth edition of the David Begnaud newsletter! These stories will warm your heart: Hallmark writers bring cards to life for elders, a homeless woman who put her dog before herself, and the man who brought the yellow brick road to Elton John.
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Courtesy: Jane Kortright
Thanks to Julie McFarland for sharing this story with us.
“Art of the Wish: An Art Exhibit Celebrating the Wishes of Elders”
Hallmark greeting card veterans and lifelong friends Marn Jensen and Andy Newcom had an extraordinary idea for bringing their gift of crafting celebrations of life’s milestones to uncharted heights: asking hundreds of elders across the country, “If you had a wish for the world, what would it be?” And then turn those answers into… well… a real-life card.
It would reframe everything they thought they knew about the power of storytelling.
For decades, Marn and Andy have helped others celebrate birthdays, graduations, and weddings through cards. But, as they started to care for their aging parents, including Marn’s father with Alzheimer’s, they both felt a new calling. So, in 2017, the two were awarded Hallmark’s first-ever creative sabbatical as a duo. It wasn’t to rest — it was to listen.
“We’d spent our careers helping others tell stories,” Andy said. “This time, we wanted to help people who don’t get asked about theirs.”
Their project, Art of the Wish, began with a simple idea: invite elders of every race, faith, and class — many of them forgotten in senior homes — to share their single wish for the world.
Over six months, they sat in living rooms, care centers, and farms across the Midwest, interviewing hundreds of elders and collecting handwritten wishes and portraits that reflected a lifetime of perspective.
The very first interview set the tone. Marn and Andy spoke with an elderly couple, Carol and Bill. Carol shared freely while Bill sat quietly, arms folded. As they prepared to leave, Bill finally looked up and pointed toward the dining room. “There are so many stories over there,” he said softly. “I wish they all could be heard.”
“That was it,” Andy recalled. “We knew right then. This is the mission.”
Courtesy: Jane Kortright
Courtesy: Kevin Cozad
The two transformed those wishes into mixed-media art made from repurposed materials — frames, handwriting, and mementos infused with memory. “Breathing new life into what’s been used felt right,” Marn said. “It’s a metaphor for aging. There’s beauty and worth in what’s been lived.”
From that first interview with Carol and Bill, they made a sculpture of stacked books with a light inside. When viewed from above, the illuminated phrase appears: “Tell me your story.”
A woman named Louis said, “Sometimes older people are judged harshly for not moving out of their homes. I wish others could understand why that transition can be so traumatic.” For her, they made a photographic and text-based piece recreating her husband’s workshop, capturing the essence of the man she still visits in memory.
When a woman named Nellie wished that “everyone could know me on my best days, not my worst days,” they made a large vintage portrait with the wish printed backward — so the woman in the picture can “read” it, but the viewer must lean in, work, and see her the way she longs to be seen.
Since then, Art of the Wish has traveled all over the country. Viewers stop, read, cry, and even “adopt” elders. One visitor told them, “I’m going to go call my grandparent right now.”
Marn and Andy’s own wish of having these elders be seen was coming true.
The exhibit is now touring nationwide through ExhibitsUSA and the Mid-America Arts Alliance, pairing art and storytelling workshops with every stop. “The show is equal parts art and humanity,” Andy told me. “The elders gave their wishes, but the lessons are for everyone.”
Marn and Andy’s friendship, forty years strong, remains at the heart of it all. “We don’t fix each other; we just love each other,” Marn said. “That’s what this project is built on.”
Art of the Wish is more than a collection of stories. It’s proof that just listening can be an act of celebration.
Some of the works // Courtesy: Kevin Cozad
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More Good Stories
☀️ Teaching kids to do good means teaching them how to do that responsibly. That’s exactly what happened when kindergarten teacher Sonja Holmes-White installed a “tattle phone” in her room to keep her students from constantly interrupting class to tell on other students doing the littlest things. The voicemails they leave are both adorable and hilarious.
Courtesy: Sonja Holmes-White
Courtesy: Kaitlyn Ross/WXIA
☀️ This is a back-on-your-feet reunion story that you don't want to miss! Tiffani McCloud felt she had no choice but to surrender her dog, Lola, to a shelter when they became homeless. But Tiffani was always nearby, making sure Lola was fostered. When word of Tiffani’s undying commitment to her companion spread, a community came together to reunite them under one roof.
There’s a friendly debate happening in my house right now. I’ll tell you who’s winning next week, but….
I want to know what you think — should Christmas lights go up before Thanksgiving?
The results from last week’s poll are in! Half of you said laughing about the good times is the best way to celebrate someone. Nostalgia really does do wonders.
Spotlight: Gripping A Dream
Courtesy: Celeste Bradley
I want to tell you about a real fighter I just heard about — quadruple amputee Celeste Bradley.
Celeste’s routine medical procedure last December turned into a sudden nightmare when she rushed back to the hospital with septic and toxic shock. The doctors had no choice but to intentionally maim her to save her life, amputating her legs and hands.
The 25-year-old was devastated, but this exceptional human being vowed not to let her situation keep her down. With the help of her team at Achievement Pediatric Therapies in Hartselle, Alabama, Celeste has been fighting physical and systemic battles to return to working full-time as a pediatric speech-language pathologist.
While she was recently fitted with prosthetic legs, she was denied coverage for myoelectric hands — the prosthetics she needs to gesture to kids, hold a stylus, or flip a therapy card. Hands are essential tools for her job!
Celeste was never going to let insurance issues get in her way, though. She’s beaten worse! So now, Celeste is raising $100,000 to buy the hands on her own… and I want to help her make it happen.
A Full-Circle Fitness Miracle
Click image to watch
When 62-year-old Jeff Agar went in for emergency triple bypass surgery, doctors said his arteries were badly blocked. But the reason he survived, his family believes, is because of what got him there in the first place: helping his son chase a dream.
Jeff and his son Johnny are among the most recognizable duos on the triathlon circuit. Jeff and Johnny swim, run, and bike for miles… with Jeff pulling, pushing, and hauling Johnny the whole time.
That’s because 31-year-old Johnny was born with cerebral palsy, a muscle disorder that makes movement almost impossible without a great deal of assistance. But that didn’t stop him from dreaming. He had a vision of being not just an athlete, but an elite Ironman… and his loving dad became the engine that made it possible.
So when Jeff was faced with the life-threatening diagnosis, the Agars believe that the fitness lifestyle he kept to support Johnny’s dream was the reason he’s likely still standing today — a full-circle moment for father and son.
Today, they’re already hard at work training for the next triathlon.
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Good Ol’ News: The Fight For A Life
Historically good stories
When a 21-year-old Black man named Joe stepped out onto a Los Angeles fire escape nine stories up to end his life in 1981, spectators below were actually trying to convince him to jump. But one man went against the grain and stepped out of a window himself in an effort to help — it was Muhammad Ali.
Ali told the man, “You’re my brother! I love you, and I couldn’t lie to you.” That pierced through Joe’s suicidal fog. Ali got to the fire escape and guided Joe, now crying, back to safety. The boxing legend then personally drove Joe to the hospital.
In that moment, Ali transcended being an icon — he became a hero.
Goodie Bag
💿 When Coachella Vinyl Record Curator Alex Rodriguez stumbled across the original acetates of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the record shop owner didn’t keep the priceless recordings for himself; he offered to return them to Elton… and The Rocket Man welcomed the record and Alex with open arms.
🎂 Attorney Bruce DeBoskey reunited with client José Trujillo 30 years after an accident that cost him both of his arms and a leg. Bruce was stunned to see José defy the odds to live what he calls “a wonderful life” and keep his most important promise — staying alive to watch his daughters grow up.
🐱 While deployed in Poland, U.S. Army Warrant Officer CW2 Richard DeJesus kept running into the same stray cat. The second time felt like fate — so when he flew home to El Paso, Texas, he brought his new kitty comrade with him.
What I’m Enjoying
I’m really enjoying The Diary Of A CEO hosted by Steven Bartlett. This podcast has so many nuggets of wisdom about being a good, effective leader and fulfilled, successful person (however you may define it). And since I’m about to launch my own podcast (more about that soon), it’s inspiring to hear how Steven guides a conversation. Who knew I would want to stay in my car longer in LA just to finish an episode!
Made with love by David Begnaud and the team.
Stories that set your soul on fire.
