Retirement has its rewards. You can make medical appointments for midmorning, when the traffic is light. You don’t have to meet project deadlines (due yesterday, please!) And, you can try to help the working men and women out there. Once I was a working stiff. McDonald’s early morning can be a frantic place. Customers line … Continue reading
Author Archives: roncooper
“Who’s the Idiot?”
We all like to complain, whine and silently curse at the world when somebody screws up. We all have buttons we don’t like pushed. Human nature. For me, it’s the ear-splitting sound of a car alarm. I was taking my bascart to the car at the grocery when I heard that annoying sound going off … Continue reading
Cancer survivors: I will lend a hand
By Ron Cooper Cancer remission brings newfound freedom to explore, discover, express. But it also entails responsibility to help others who are in active treatment or are struggling to cope with the remission/recurrence cycle. Five years after my diagnosis, I am still on guard that cancer will return. It has once and aggressive treatment fended … Continue reading
Easter egg baskets: It’s never too late!
By Ron Cooper Easter Day. A middle-aged man carries an armful of wrapped sweets to the checkout counter at a drugstore. Two of them slip from his grasp and tumble to the floor. I stop to retrieve them and casually remark: “Wow, I guess your kids are going to be happy receiving these today!” … Continue reading
Nostalgia: I miss eye contact
By Ron Cooper Call me a dinosaur, but I miss a simpler time without pinging notifications, YouTube commercials and trending Twitter topics. I miss eye contact. I was taught that steady eye contact and a firm handshake came from promise-keepers, truth-tellers and people of admirable character. Eye contact served me well as a cub reporter … Continue reading
Mail drop
That’s odd, I thought, as I watched a man trying to retrieve his mail. He stood there motionless for 30 seconds, staring at the mailbox, his right hand shaking. Then, one by one, the trembling hand dropped the letters onto the ground. At the end, he held only one. Amazingly, he didn’t even look down, … Continue reading
Cancer survivors: Be discreet!
by Ron Cooper With cancer, survivor anniversaries are important milestones. At times, you want to shout it from the rooftops, go on 60 Minutes or address the United Nations. Other times, it’s best to shut up. Once I was at a family gathering, and boasted proudly that I had reached my five-year mark as a … Continue reading
Welcome to America: Signs say it all
by Ron Cooper Refugees and immigrants moving to our communities may often feel like a duck out of water. They may be greeted, not with warm embraces and welcome, but instead with glares and ill-chosen words of intolerance and bigotry. Compassion demands that we respond to these newcomers with open arms. A simple way to … Continue reading
Now
Now, the fragrance of life so sweet Now, the exuberance of the moment Now, the beauty of things at hand Now, the loveliness of what simply is Click here for Ron’s book on his mother’s Alzheimer’s journey Continue reading
Aging / Alzheimer's / Cancer / Caregiving / prayer
The Caregiver’s Prayer
Ron wrote a moving account of his mother’s journey with Alzheimer’s. Click here please. Continue reading
Ron Cooper 