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
Category Archives: Kindness & Compassion
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
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
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
Nina’s roommate
After I visited my mom in the Alzheimer’s unit, I would often spot my friend Nina, sitting as always in her wheelchair near the nursing home’s ice cream parlor. Nina was outgoing and always greeted me by bellowing “Hello, Babe!” She was so sweet. “What’s you been doing today, Nina,” I asked her one day. … Continue reading
The Napkin
One morning at the restaurant, I spotted an elderly couple sitting nearby. When her paper napkin fluttered to the ground, the man leapt to his feet and ran to the woman’s side, picked up the napkin and carefully tucked it under her chin. She was eating oatmeal, and I guessed the man didn’t want her pretty … Continue reading
Breakfast ministry
For the past year, I’ve gone to a restaurant where I eat bacon and eggs and teach English to Maria on place mats. We started with simple words and phrases and graduated to talking about the pluses and minuses of signing up for her employer’s health insurance plan. This is my breakfast ministry. I majored … Continue reading
Department store dance
Today, the pianist at the department store played the 1942 hit, “I Don’t Want to Walk without You.” An elderly man hovered nearby to get a closer look at the lyrics. As he mouthed the words, his hips swayed and he began to dance. His eyes sparkling, he spotted an old woman sitting nearby in … Continue reading
Old man and a chair
Every morning at my restaurant hangout, a feeble old man shows up with his walker. Every morning, he takes little baby steps on his way to a table. Lately, I’ve noticed the man slowing down. He gets halfway to his goal when the sudden weight of his weariness overtakes him. He teeters and looks like … Continue reading
Ron Cooper 