A friend of mine who contracted cancer told me this story of inspiration and kindness:

“A lady in my office has a “red” parking tag right by the front door (red tag spaces at our university are reserved spaces, and cost over a couple of hundred dollars). I have a “blue” tag, which means you end up walking a long way from the parking lot to your office.

“Chemo left me feeling exhausted. When I started back to work on a very limited basis, my friend insisted I take her “red” tag and park near the front door. She took my “blue” tag, and said she didn’t mind in the least.

“This was during a particularly snowy, icy period–I felt SO guilty that she was walking from so far away to get to our building! But during those two weeks I used her tag, she never once complained.

“I managed to get a temporary handicapped parking tag that runs through the end of April, so am now close to my building. I gave the red tag back to her with many thanks.

“Unbelievably sad news: This week my friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Talk about bad things happening to good people.

“Please hold my friend in the light. She is one of God’s own angels. She is certainly one of mine.”

© Ron Cooper