Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

The world of my work is changing and my professional identity, direction and security are unsettled. It is discouraging to think of all the time and effort I have invested. it seems like a sacrifice. perhaps i can begin to understand the original meaning of the word: "to make sacred." perhaps this is a sacred passage in which my insecurity is sacrificed for trust in whatever is to come. As one form dissolves, another takes its place. My work now is to seek and to recognize a new form that will provide the opportunity for growth and reward. You are sure reaping your heavenly reward, Officer Cook, for the ultimate sacrifice you made in the line of duty for Dade County and its citizens. our department has come a long way since your tragic passing and we can only hope and pray it is for the betterment of society. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero as your eternal growth continues its journey through Our Creator's kingdom.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 16, 2013

Then a plowman said, speak to us of work. And he answered, saying: You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite....Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune. But I say to you when you work you fulfill a part of the earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, and in keeping yourself with labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret...And all work is empty save when there is love; and when you work with love you bind yourself and to one another and to God. And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to change all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed non-living are standing about you and watching....Work is love made visible. Officer Cook, with every ounce of breath you inhaled you made a permanent mark on society and will not so be forgotten. You carried out your duties so faithfully and with reverence other officers will take notice of. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.R

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 16, 2013

The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, the black sleek heads of seals bouncing like half-submerged balls. I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again. I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the streets to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along, who are not parlor generals and field deserters, but move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out. The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident. Greek amphoras for wine or oil, Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums, but you know they were made to be used. The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real. With creativity and imagination, it is possible to reframe any type of work and see it as a partnership with God in the ongoing creation of the world. So true and this Officer Cook, is the life that drove you to become an excellent police officer. No matter the time of day or night, the weather conditions, officers are highly trained as you certainly were to deal with and risk their very lives for the safety of the public and you certainly did just that on May 16, 1979, without any reservations, you were there for your fellow officers and the civilians who relied on your boldness and mettle to see you through. As I've stated, you always remain a source of inspiration to your loving family, friends and colleagues forever. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

.Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 16, 2013

I am aware as I sit quietly here in my chair, sewing or reading or braiding my hair-human and simply my lot and my share-I am aware of the systems that swing through the aisles of creation on heavenly wing. I am aware of a marvelous thing. trail of the comets in furious flight, thunders of beauty that shatter the night, terrible triumph of pageants that march to the trumpets of time of Eternity's arch. I am aware of the splendor that ties all the things of the earth with the things of the skies, here in my body the heavenly heat, here in my flesh the melodious beat, of the planets that circle Divinity's feet. As I silently sit here in my chair, I am aware. you were aware Officer Cook, of your areas where you policed and served with dignity and integrity so vital in protecting our very lives. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. The universe is made of stories not atoms. All your diligent work, Officer Cook, will never be forgotten. Good work that leaves the world softer and fuller and better than ever before is the stuff of which human satisfaction and spiritual value are made. To have sacrificed your life in the manner in which you did, Officer Cook, speaks volumes about your reputation and stellar character. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

Energy is eternal delight, and rounding the corner, sending off a spray of silver ice shavings from his blades, the speed skater understands. He embodies life's quickening force. A human arrow, he knows exactly where he is going and the fastest way to get there. The single-mindedness of the speed skater is exceptional in a world of so much squandered energy. The energy you brought to your department Officer cook, was indeed very valuable and a resource for all future officers who now face the same perils you faced on a daily basis. Your life was so well planned out, it read like a treasure map and it took you from point A to point B with hard work and the patience necessary to attain your goals. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain free fall and I float into Creator Spirit's deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all-surrounding grace. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, Officer Cook, you'll forever be floating ever so gently in God's loving embrace. I know you loved the water and now you can help as one of God's preeminent lifeguards.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

Most mornings I get away, slip out the door before light, set forth on the dim, gray road, letting my feet find a cadence that softly carries me on. Nobody is up-all alone my journey begins. Some days it's escape; the city is burning behind me, cars have stalled in their tracks and everybody is fleeing like me but some other direction. My stride is for life, a far place. Other days it is hunting: maybe some game will cross my path and my stride will follow for hours, matching all turns. My breathing has caught the right beat for endurance; familiar trance like scenes glide by. And sometimes it's a dream of motion, streetlights coming near, passing, shadows that lean before me, lengthened then fading and a sound from a tree: a soul, or an owl. These journeys are quiet. They mark my days with adventure too precious for anyone else to share, little gems of darkness, the world going by and my breath and the road. As a young man growing up and after you married Karen, you had certain passions, hunting and photography which you enjoyed together with your father-in-law and now we can see why you, Officer Cook, were a great admirer of the great outdoors. These hobbies may lie within your family members and it would be great as this too is a way to pass on your beautiful legacy. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. May all of your eternal journeys be in complete comfort as we know your cherished soul is looking down from God's heavenly Kingdom upon us.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

Justice is like the Kingdom of God as it is not without us as a fact; it is written within us as a great yearning. Freedom is what you do what what's been done to you. Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. What a high and holy vision! As a duly trained officer, Officer Cook, it was your job to see that everyone whom you dealt with professionally was treated the same way and given fair and just courtesy which you afforded all citizens. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything, what a beautiful legacy-passing on abundant joy. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. You were a happy person during your life, Officer Cook and now because of your heroism you have passed on these special qualities to your loved to carry on. You would be very glad, very approving of how your family members are turning out. They are successful in all their endeavors and particularly your nephew Justin, whom I had the pleasure to meet in front of your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook's home in North Miami Beach, Florida in Sept. of 2010. He is either working on a master's degree or has already earned his degree. He had an accident is in in a wheelchair and he does not let this derail his dreams and aspirations. If he can do it, we all can achieve whatever we choose to follow as a goal we set for ourselves. Your mother, sister, Nancy, Karen, who has remarried and your extended family of your niece, Gina and her brother, your nephew, Joshua Hyatt and two great-nieces, Alexis ans Skyler and great-nephew, Legend should all live and be well. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. It was an honor to meet them and to play soccer for thirty minutes in your mother's yard with him. Your family will always be friends and special to me and my family forever.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 15, 2013

Love life everything- pale lights markets medley of green lettuce, red cherries, golden grapes and purple eggplants-all so extraordinary! Incredible! You get excited, you talk to people and people talk to you, you touch and they touch you. All this is magical. like some endless celebration. This sounds like when I met your niece Gina Wilkerson last year at the Festival Flea Market in Pompano Beach with her husband, Trevor and their son, your great-nephew, Legend. You have a loving family, Officer Cook and you would be very proud of them. You're receiving enjoyment up in heaven from them and their accomplishments. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 14, 2013

It does no good to think moralistically about how much time we waste. wasted time is usually good soul time. Leisure makes the human more human by engaging the heart and expanding the vision, deepening the insight and stretching the soul. You always tried Officer Cook, to use your time wisely. We are all allotted certain time in this world and that time is supposed to be utilized for making the world a better place to live. You succeeded in doing that and in the rush and noise of life, as you have certain intervals, step within yourselves and be still. wait upon god and feel His good presence; this will carry you through your day's business. God was always with you Officer Cook, He held your hand each day and up until your final breath you took. I wished as we all did, that things would have had a better outcome, but you were a grand hero who gave his every ounce of strength to combat evil. By the way, this past Friday, as I was driving in the afternoon on NW 17th Avenue and NW 75th Street, I noticed the street sign was replaced with a newer sign. I think the reason was because the abbreviation for officer was misspelled. It read "Ocfr" instead of "Ofcr." Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 14, 2013

My father could hear a little animal step, or a moth in the dark against the screen and every far sound called the listening out into places where the rest of us had never been. More spoke to him from the soft wild night than came to our porch for us on the wind; we would watch him look up and his face go keen till the walls of the world flared, widened. My father heard so much that we still stand inviting the quiet by turning the face, waiting for a time when something in the night will touch us too from that other place. Officer Cook, you and your beloved father, Charles, may you both rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero are up in heaven where you are assisting God in all His endeavors and especially with your fellow comrades who paid the ultimate price as you did in keeping the officers on this earth safe in their pursuits of evil. It's a difficult battle indeed, but with your terrific effort we can make it happen.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 11, 2013

You are so weak. Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave til it gets to shore. You need more help than you know. Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us. We taste only sacredness. In the end, Officer Cook, you performed your duties with grace even under siege, you fought the exceptional battle and in the process were our hero, saving six lives, while putting your sacred life on the line for us and the community you so dearly cherished and whose citizens respected you and your capabilities. You never showed a sign of weakness, only the boldness of a lion and now as you my neighbor, friend and hero, rest in peace, you can be assured that God will fill your eternal cup with only the finest of drinks.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 11, 2013

As a bee seeks nectar from all kinds of flowers, seek teachings everywhere; like a deer that finds a quiet place to graze, seek seclusion to digest all you have gathered. Like a madman beyond all limits, go wherever you please and live like a lion, completely free of all fear. Where your soul rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, Officer Cook, there are no worries, there are no limitations, fears or whatever may infringe upon you, you were our valiant knight in shining armor who was there when we called upon you and now God has called upon you and so many others to keep watch over His heavenly fortress. Your soul has been set free to roam above God's fruited plains forevermore.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 11, 2013

Birdsong brings relief to my longing. I am just as ecstatic as they are, but with nothing to say! Please, universal soul, practice some song or something, through me! The birds do sing and the quietness of the surroundings brings an air of peace and contentment. This is what your resolve brought us, Officer Cook. The will, the power to change things for the better. And now that your beloved soul is singing God's praises in the heavens above you can rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero a little easier.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 11, 2013

Every creature is full of God and is a book about God. One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us and even the smallest ant may wish to communicate with a man. God nourishes everything, from the horned buffalo to nits, disdaining no creature-for if He disdained creature due to their insignificance, they could not endure for even a moment. Rather He gazes and emanates compassion upon them all. So should you be good to all creatures, disdaining none. The truly wise person kneels at the feet of all creatures. As small children, our parents taught us at night to say a prayer for one another, how about saying a small prayer for creatures created by the Master Creator? You were taught love and proper respect for all people and animals as well, Officer Cook and now I can see where you garnered your love and compassion for everyone. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero and maybe if we were a little more compassionate like you, the problems we encounter would be lessened a little bit.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 11, 2013

Earth teach me stillness as the grasses are stilled with light. Earth teach me suffering as old stones suffer with memory. Earth teach me humility as blossoms are humble with beginning. Earth teach me caring as the mother who secures her young. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me limitation as the ant which crawls on the ground. earth teach me freedom as the eagle which soars in the sky. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me to remember kindness as dry fields weep with rain. Officer Cook, teach us it's ok to cry over your untimely passing and yet you taught others the greatest lesson in life: Never lose faith and never give up hope. Chase after your dreams as you did with a zest, a zeal a yearning, a thirst to garner more knowledge that is readily available if only we look straight ahead. Your compassion and passions never took you down the wrong end of the tracks, a lesson quite a few officers could learn from this day. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your beloved parents taught you and Nancy the art of perseverance. Never to be forgotten. This stayed with you for your entire twenty-five years on this, God's green earth.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 10, 2013

I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars, but my thoughts and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better. As long as you were alive and happy and healthy, Officer Cook, you family and friends, colleagues and peers were truly blessed. Now as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you can be sure of the silence at night that hovers over the hollowed grounds where you lie and above in the heavens that shine so bright as you and those who made the ultimate are now part of God's celestial constellations. We don't need to look very far to find you as you were always there for that who loved and cared for you so much and likewise you gave back all of the same. I'm sure while out in nature, when you went exploring, you could come back and relate dozens of unending stories of images so unimaginable one would be truly amazed.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 10, 2013

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, speaks to me. The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me. The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me. The strength of fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away, they speak to me. And my heart soars. Sounds like one of your Boy scout camp outings, Officer Cook. We were both scouts,but I retired so to speak after I attained the rank of First Class Scout and was my Troop 350's first Eternal Light Award winner. In Hebrew it's called the Ner Tamid. You were a natural lover of the outdoors, so I thought this reflection was rather fitting. Your light will never diminish, it will always stay on as you shine your warmth and radiance down on your loving family and friends who honor one mighty outstanding and valiant young man who put his life ahead of others so they can carry on and achieve. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The troop I was affiliated with met in Temple Sinai in North Miami beach on Ne 22nd Avenue and its scoutmaster was Dr. Stanford Cooke. Some last name as yours but with an E at the end and it was next door to St. Lawrence Catholic Church where The Reverend Father Roger Holoubek was its pastor.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 10, 2013

The profession of law enforcement calls for officers to be alert, to find God in nature, to know God's lurking places, and to attend all the oratorios and operas in nature. I don't know if you were an opera buff, Officer Cook, along with Karen.If you wish to know the Divine, feel the wind on your face and the warm sun on your hand. As often as you can, take a trip out to the fields to pray. All the grasses will join you. They will enter your prayers and give you strength to sing praises to God. Your passionate spirit, Officer Cook, is warming our hearts here in this world and the green grass that your being is lying beneath as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero is allowing us the chance to summon god's gentle words of encouragement that you would be offering us if you were still here. The Great Spirit is the life that is in all things-all creatures and plants and even rocks and the minerals. All things-and I mean all things-have their own will , their own way and their own purpose. Whenever a person breaks a stick in the forest, let him consider what it would feel like if it were himself that was thus broken. And the bonds you forged with all people, Officer Cook, will always remain intact. The green grass where you rest in peace is hollowed ground and can never be disturbed and you welcome all those to visit and remember the promising life that you so faithfully lived.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 10, 2013

Every place is a vortex of energy, some locations more so than others. Practitioners of feng shui take readings of energy of places and the forces they describe are both positive and negative. Each place where you resided, Officer cook, you brought with you a positive and reinforcing amount of energy. Being the optimist allowed you to think things through and formulate a plan to help you solve the situations presented to you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Feng Shui is I believe a form of relaxation exercise.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 10, 2013

The stage of my life has changed; old doors are closed and new ones now stand open. Though I may have seen this space before, I now come to make it mine, to call it home. Hello and greetings to the heart and soul of this new setting. I honor this place that will shelter me and I embrace the changes and opportunities that this move invites into my life. We have never been able to move without saying good-bye to all the rooms of the apartment. Houses are full of soul and so are rooms. I leave the bedroom...I begin walking through my house. I will traverse it many times today like a creature covering her turf. It is a journey that zigzags and returns upon itself...a re-remembering of "place." I know this is the way many ancients prayed-circling a holy site to deepen their devotion...The floor in this house is wood...wide, old boards. When I walk I am walking on the wood and in the woods. I am walking on the life of these trees. They have been cut and planed...offered up for this sheltering. As you continue your eternal journey through God's heavens Officer Cook, one thing is crystal clear that day your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook, let her live and be well and your beloved wife, Karen, let her live and be well too, were forever changed in sorrow over your loss. Nancy and her family too were overcome with tragedy and loss too, but in all their hearts and in their homes, you will always be a part of them as we remember you and your outstanding bravery to duty when it called and you could be counted on the most. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. I was in your old bedroom in North Miami Beach, Florida as met Gina and her loving family. I then stated sobbing like baby and she comforted me. I am supposed to stay stoic as I perform funerals for others, but the sense of your loss left me very sad as I wear my emotions on my sleeve. You were the greatest friend and source of wit and courage a person could ever have known. Your spirit could definitely transfer some of that to myself and I would greatly recognize it.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

There is joy in all: in the hair I brush each morning, in the Cannon towel, newly washed, that I rub my body with each morning, in the chapel of eggs I cook each morning, in the outcry from the kettle that heats my coffee each morning, in the spoon and the chair that cry "hello there, each morning, in the godhead of the table that I set my silver, plate, cup upon each morning. All this is God, right here in my pea-green house each morning and I mean though often forget, to give thanks, to faint down by the kitchen table in a prayer of rejoicing as the holy birds at the kitchen window peek into their marriage of seeds. So while I think of it. let me paint a thank you on my palm for this God, this laughter of the morning, lest it go unspoken. The joy that isn't shared, I've heard, dies young. Things sure happen sometimes not as we planned, Officer Cook. But one thing is certain and that is you're never far from us. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Wherever you live is your temple if you treat it like one. It is essential to experience all the things and moods of one good place. This world, this palpable world, which we are wont to treat with the boredom and disrespect with which we habitually regard places with no sacred association for us, is in truth a holy place and we did not know it. A place will express itself through the human being just as it does through wild flowers. Perhaps the most radical thing we can do is to stay home, so we can learn the names of the plants and animals around us; so that we can begin to know what tradition we're apart of. The tradition you were a central part of Officer Cook, was your extended police family of which you were a loyal and distinguished member. Your homes with your parents and your wife, Karen were sacred places, filled with life, laughter and new meaning. We do not need cathedrals to remind ourselves to experience the holy. There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero in God's eternal home until your loved ones come to join you again. You honored the uniform and badge you wore with a sense of clarity and pride and now we take the time to pay back our honor to you for a job well performed until the end. We visit your grave and reflect back on your life and the achievements you realized that now highlight your very life and fantastic career of excellence personified.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

The river is famous to the fish. The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so. The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse. The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek. The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom. The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors. The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured. I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back. I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do. The recognition that everything has its own place, integrity and happiness leads naturally to the spiritual practices of attention and wonder. To see for ourselves life celebrated for all its uniqueness, we need only to view a spiritual perspective. Each moment of time is precious not because of what it can be used for, but simply because it is. Creation is only one use of time. Another is appreciation. We appreciate and have recognized your special niche in society, Officer Cook and perhaps the light will go on and we can finally start remembering your valued and cherished life of twenty-five years for all that it represented to our community and in and around the sacred streets of Dade County where your jurisdiction was Officer Cook. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013