Words & Banter

A Boy. A Man. A Wish.


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I have a confession. Although you've been involved with Make-A-Wish for decades and toldme countless wish stories, I've never been moved to tears. Until this weekend.


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Why? Itis not like you were at Tommy Austin's 80th birthday celebration onSaturday. Almost none of the speakerscould get through their comments without crying. As you know, there would be no Make-A-Wish without Tommy, asit all started back in 1980 with him wanting to do something special for ChrisGreicius, a 7-year-old boy who was battling leukemia and wanted to be a policeofficer.


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Those are the facts, yes. But when you invited Sawyer to join you, andemailed us the link to the storythat inspired Make-A-Wish video, it sat in my inbox until Saturdayafternoon. I was clearing emails andfound it, and thought it was a good time to watch it, especially since I knew youwere at the party. And that's when thefacts of Make-A-Wish became something so much more.


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You may have been watching it at the same timewe were, as they used it to open the tribute to Tommy. I have known him for decades, so am veryfamiliar with the story, but it is a powerful reminder of how people cametogether to grant a young boy his wish, and how that single wish touched somany lives.


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Yes, the ripple effect it created was truly amazing,as it led to the creation of The Make-A-Wish Foundation. But what brought me to tears, and made me gothrough more tissues than I'd care to admit, were the words of Chris's mother, "Thiswas something I was totally helpless to do" but that Tom was able to pull itoff with help from others.


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I cannot imagine the helplessness a parent mustfeel when their child has a serious illness.


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Trust me, hearing those words made my heart hurt. But I smiled when one of the other foundersexplained that after Chris had passed, with his wish having been fulfilledbeyond his wildest dreams, that everyone involved looked at each other and said,"There are more children out there; let's go find them" and how it snowballedfrom there. It made me want to cheer andshout, "Yes!"


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"Snowballed" is an understatement. Now, 41 years later, Make-A-Wish has made such a huge difference …granting more than 500,000 wishes, with chapters around the world … and bringinghope and joy to the wish kids and their families.


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I can't begin to imagine how proud Tommy Austinmust be to know that his simple desire to make one boy a little happier wouldlead to so much more.


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The word I would use is "humble," as Tommy believes he ismerely the messenger and refuses to take any credit, explaining he was onlytrying to make Chris' life better. But,there was a room full of people who saw it differently, and told heartwarmingstories about Tommy.


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It sounds like it was the best 80th birthdayparty ever, and he certainly deserved it.


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It was so much more. And, we surprised him by announcing that inhonor of his 80th birthday, The Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana had created a"Circle of 80" to kick-off the Tommy Austin Wish Fund.


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That's so perfect. Although I've never met him, from watchingthe video I think that the best gift one could give Tommy would be to help grant the wish of a Make-A-Wish child. For that matter, itmay be one of the greatest gifts any one of us could give …

Whether it's becoming involved with a local Make-A-Wish chapter or simply by making a donation … never underestimate the power of a wish!

charitable giving
Animation

Safety Is Boring!

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RED+BLACK - Safety Is Boring
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When was the last time you thought about safety (whether being prepared in case of a fire in your house or merely trying to avoid preventable injuries at work or home)? Yes, it’s boring … but the time to think about it isn’t AFTER the fact.

P.S. – Did you know that June is National Safety Month? Although we could argue that it should be every month.

safety
Quotes & Feedback

Don't Take Our Word For It

We all know that when people post quotes or testimonials, it’s often a marketing device. But the truth is, getting feedback, and especially stories, about Red & Black from others is eye-opening. And often what keeps Red going when she faces days of frustration (and piles of paper) with all the work associated with Red & Black being a start-up company.

Every time someone tells Red how her crisis, and how she learned to take control of her life, has helped them, it gives her a warm and fuzzy feeling. And how does Black respond?

Great quote. Save it somewhere. And, make a note that we need to create a form to make it easier for people to give us feedback — both positive and negative, as how else can we improve?

So, when creating the Quotes & Feedback section, we thought about playing off our tagline “real sisters. real life.” and calling it “real feedback.” Which, as most things do, got us on a (slight) tangent about “why” (Black’s favorite word) Red & Black is resonating with people. And although that may become a post one day, it doesn’t change the fact that we love hearing from those of you who have experienced Red & Black because you speak from a place of authenticity and credibility.

Looking back (which Red loves to do, while Black prefers looking forward), if we had realized the journey we were about to take when Black turned Red’s crisis into a brand, we’d have saved all the feedback in one place. And Black would have probably used an Excel spreadsheet to organize it. Instead, we often find it when looking for something else.

It has come from “real people” who’ve looked to Red & Black for their own enjoyment, but also from individuals (educators and students) in education settings, as well as community and religious organizations. But some of the most eye-opening feedback has come from those in the criminal justice world – both on the “inside” and “outside”.

Sign up on the sticky bar at the bottom of the page to be one of the first to receive our feedback form, as we really do love hearing from you on all things Red & Black! Plus, it’s an easy way to get a little bit of Red & Black delivered to you every week.

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Ask Red & Black

Real Questions. Real Answers.

Design by Sawyer Pennington

JUST LIKE MOM?

One of the things that drove Red crazy growing up was when our mother asked everyone questions. Lots and lots of questions. But that was because Red was a quiet, unassuming child who disliked attention of any sort. However, as she grew up, she realized how else do you find answers? Black, on the other hand, rarely asks personal questions, figuring if you want her to know something, you’ll volunteer it. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. (WARNING! Her favorite one is, “Why?”)

OUR FAVORITE QUESTIONS …

Our favorite part of Speaking Engagements is when we open it up to questions from the audience, and, more often than not, we run out of time before we run out of questions. Many times, the questions are predictable (Did Red’s husband ever get a job?) and sometimes they’re not what we expected (What did Black learn from Red? FYI, she had to pause before answering). However, given Black turned Red’s crisis into a book — a brand — a business, we haven’t gotten a question that we refused to answer. (Note: Please do NOT take that as a challenge.)

We’ve also done countless media interviews, and the questions from media professionals are not very different from the ones at speaking engagements. However, many of them provide us with an opportunity to share food for thought and “instantly actionable” suggestions, so we’ll share the “better” questions with you.

QUESTIONS WE ASK EACH OTHER?

If you’re wondering if we ever generate the questions, the answer is “yes.” Why? Because sometimes one of us wants to know how the other one would answer it. Typically, Black’s curious about Red’s self-proclaimed “mere mortal” take on a topic, but sometimes it’s Red needing a non-emotional perspective.

SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS!

We love questions. And, yes, you can submit one. (Red gets very excited when they arrive in her inbox.)

If you receive our newsletter, you’re part of the group we invite to send questions to Red, Black, or both of us.

We read them almost immediately. (Red insists.) From there, we select the questions most likely to resonate with our community — ones that are useful, thought-provoking, or simply fun.

Because the goal isn’t just to respond. It’s to make it worth sharing.

P. S. — If you want to be part of this community, sign up on the sticky bar at the bottom of this page.