Memory Is All We Have

My wonderful wife is an artist. She doesn't believe it sometimes, and sometimes doubts herself... but how can you doubt the beauty and joy in her work? This bench was created to benefit a children's museum in Omaha - to be auctioned off to rich people for the museum. There were three benches created, and my wife's just happened to not garner as much money as the other benches (there were three total). She's disappointed, and it's easy to understand why; her bench was easily the most amazing artistic piece in the entire room.

She finds reasons to doubt herself sometimes, but she shouldn't. You can't apply dollar signs to something like this, because that's not the point. The point was to make people smile - to make children smile - and if a room full of rich people are were too drunk or too stuck up to remember what it's like to be a kid, to have "ice cream dreams," then screw 'em.

The success of this bench can't be measured in dollars. It will be measured in the thousands of children who stop by the bench to read its inspirational words and view its brilliant colors - and who smile because of it. In years it will be worn, its color faded by thousands of gentle small hands, but it will have done more good in the world than any of the people at the event could ever imagine.

Casey - you bring smiles to everyone who views your art, and I can't imagine a more powerful and important thing than that. You make me have more hope in the world. I love you.