When Peggy Pasko sat down to read the newspaper that day, she had no idea a 520-word article in the features section was about to change her life.

A photograph of a man appeared at the top of page 1F. He was in his 40s, with a thick mustache and brown hair that fell to his shoulders.

In front of him, he held a black-and-white photograph of John Wayne. To his right sat a nearly life-sized wood carving of the American icon, sporting a cowboy hat, leather vest and white bandana.

Peggy’s eyes scanned the story below: “A homeless man is working on a carving of John Wayne. His dream is to make a living in art.”

The article — published in the San Antonio Express-News on July 6, 2001 — said the man in the photograph had given up all his worldly possessions to pursue art. He told the reporter that as a child, his parents never supported him. As an adult, his three ex-wives didn’t either. The former Marine and truck driver had been homeless for years and was staying in transitional housing east of downtown.

As Peggy read the artile, she says, she heard a message from God: Email the reporter who wrote it.

Peggy was a devout Christian. She worked for USAA and lived in a quiet apartment. She loved visiting art museums. When she wasn’t at work, she was volunteering for Harvest Fellowship Community Church on the North Side, whose members delivered meals to people living under bridges and highway overpasses. She, too, was trying to pick up the pieces after a divorce.

Maybe, if she emailed the reporter, the reporter could put her in touch with the man.

Then, maybe, Peggy could find a way to help him.

“When God asks you to do something, you are to be obedient to his requests,” she recalled.

Peggy sat down at her computer to type.

“I wish you everything in your endeavors on this journey in your life!” she began. “I felt a strong connection to you when I read the article. I hope for a ‘one man showing’ of your work in the near future. Perhaps you could do this at Blue Star during one of the First Friday Art Shows. If there is a way I may assist you, please let me know.”

Peggy signed off with, “May God’s richest blessings be yours.” She asked the reporter, Jeanie Tavitas-Williams, to pass the message to the man.

In the subject line, she wrote: “Artist Michael J. Pasko.”

Importance: “High.”

‘I had nothing’

By the time the story hit the newsstands, Michael Pasko had been living on the street on and off for more than 20 years. In his younger days, he’d used drugs and had run-ins with the law. But decades ago, he swore off vices to dedicate his life to art. His artistic talents, he says, are gifts from God. By giving up everything to pursue them, he believes he’s serving the Lord.

By his account, Michael spent his days scouring the streets for wood to carve. John Wayne took more than 7,000 hours of cutting, chiseling and painting, he said, and was built with five different types of wood, including cedar, oak and pine.

Most of the wood he found; some was donated, and much of it he bought with cash he earned from the occasional shift at a meat packing plant.

“I was homeless; I had nothing,” Michael recalled. “I gave the last energy I had because I thought I was going to die.”

When Peggy didn’t hear from Michael right away, she worried that he had ignored the email from a stranger. But three weeks later, Michael called.

The two hit it off. Over the next few weeks, they talked by phone, discussing their beliefs about Christianity and art.

“That’s what drew me to Michael — his love for God,” Peggy said.

Soon, they decided it was time to meet. Peggy agreed to join Michael for Sunday service at his transition house. On the scheduled date, he sat at a picnic table in the house’s living area, waiting for her to arrive.

“I was scared to death,” Michael said. He didn’t have a home or money, let alone hope. Why would this woman want to meet him?

When Peggy entered the lobby, the sun reflected off the glass door when it swung open, forcing Michael to squint.

“Like boom! This big sun burst,” he said.

‘Love the little things’

Michael quickly realized Peggy didn’t fit in at the transition house. She had arrived in a car. She wore stylish clothes. But Michael was most mesmerized by her bright blue eyes and short blond hair.

“Then I found out she loves God, she loved my John Wayne,” Michael said. “And right there, that’s a gift.”

Over the next few months, they continued talking by phone. Michael learned about Peggy’s childhood in Memphis, and Peggy learned about Michael’s upbringing in a military family.

As a child, Michael spent his free time whittling battleships. Once, in fifth grade, drew a perfect likeness of Abraham Lincoln, he said. But no one in his life had supported his artistic abilities.

Peggy wanted to change that.

Their friendship went on for five months, until they decided to make their feelings official. They set their first date for New Year’s Eve 2001.

They both felt butterflies as they made their way to an Italian restaurant at Loop 410 and McCullough Avenue. Peggy drove her green Saturn sedan. Michael took a bus.

They ordered spaghetti. At one point, someone snapped a photograph of the couple. Peggy beams next to Michael, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Today, that photograph is protected by a wooden picture frame that reads, “Love the little things.”

It sits on the living room coffee table in the heart of the ranch home on the far Northwest Side where they’ve lived together since 2002.

‘Take a chance’

Yesterday — New Year’s Eve — marked the 18th anniversary of their first date.

“Right before that picture was taken, I almost died of pneumonia,” Michael, now 63, said while motioning to the photograph from that night. “And before that, it was 20 years that I was out on the streets.

“And then I met her.”

Peggy giggled.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, as all couples do,” said Peggy, 72.

Four months after their first date, the two were married in a San Antonio courthouse. Their relationship has survived economic downturns, deaths of loved ones and a cancer diagnosis. (Michael was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer, from which he made a full recovery.)

Peggy retired from USAA. Michael still dreams of starting a nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless people discover their artistic talents.

Over the years, Michael has completed at least 40 to 50 commissioned pieces. In 2007, one of his sculptures, a massive carving of a Longhorn bull, earned him recognition in the book “Best of American Pottery and Woodworking.” The rest of his pieces line the walls and shelves of the couple’s home, including John Wayne, who sits above the fireplace, next to a bust of Spurs legend Tim Duncan.

Michael isn’t the only artist in the family anymore; Peggy has taken up painting. Today, her abstract, acrylic paintings hang on the walls, too.

“The biggest and best investment someone can make is to take a chance on someone,” Michael said, turning to look at his wife.

“Thank you for taking a chance on me, honey.”

Marina Starleaf Riker is an investigative reporter for the San Antonio Express-News with extensive experience covering affordable housing, inequality and disaster recovery. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | marina.riker@express-news.net | Twitter: @MarinaStarleaf